Gaëlle Méchaly (born 15 June 1970) is a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. In 2001, she reached the finals of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Méchaly has been a regular member of a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

ensemble, Les Arts Florissants and has appeared in many

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic productions directed by William Christie. The recording of ''Zoroastre'' was short-listed for a Grammy Award in 2003.

Biography

Méchaly was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1970. She has a younger brother,

Nathaniel Méchaly Nathaniel Méchaly (born 1972) is a French musician and film composer. His composing credits include '' Avanim'' (2004), ''Revolver'' (2005), ''Colombiana'' (2011), '' The Grandmaster'' (2013), and the ''Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014). Early lif ...

, who is also a musician and a composer of film scores. They have collaborated on a number of projects during their careers.

Career

Méchaly trained as a classical singer at the Conservatoire National de Région in

. She has subsequently performed internationally, and contributed to many recordings, ranging from Baroque to contemporary music and film soundtracks. Méchaly made her debut at the Opera de Marseille. In 1993, she won the jury special prize at the Concours International d'Oratorio et de Lied de Clermont-Ferrand, and in 1994 she won the Grand Prix Henri Sauguet and the Prix de La SACEM for 20th-century music. During her career Méchaly has performed in leading operatic roles on many occasions with William Christie, and his

music ensemble, Les Arts Florissants. Several of these performances were recorded, and released as albums. A review of Christie's 1997 recording of

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera a ...

's ''Hippolyte et Aricie'' noted the brilliant intensity of Méchaly's voice, performing as "L'Amour". A reviewer wrote of her performance as Angélique in the eponymous work by

Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of 20th-century classical music, classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoir ...

"Gaëlle Méchaly’s light and flexible soprano is just right for the terrifying main role". In 2003, her live concert performance as Amélite, in Rameau's ''

Zoroastre ''Zoroastre'' (''Zoroaster'') is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 5 December 1749 by the Opéra in the first Salle du Palais-Royal in Paris. The libretto is by Louis de Cahusac. ''Zoroastre'' was the fourth of Rameau's '' t ...

'', conducted by Christie at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

was described as "delightfully vulnerable". This recording of ''Zoroastre'' was nominated for a

GRAMMY The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for Best Opera Recording in 2004. In 2001, Méchaly appeared in the finals of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, where she performed works by Mozart, Bizet and Donizzetti. She was only the sixth French contestant to reach this stage of the competition since 1991. In 2010, she sang at the premiere of

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; 14 October 1952 – 2 June 2023) was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the En ...

's ''Tempest Songbook'' in Orleans, France. In 2023 and 2024, Mechaly has performed a Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary repertoire of "fantasies and love songs of yesterday and today" with the ensemble TM+, under the direction of , cellist David Simpson and

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

player Silvia Lenzi. Méchaly has contributed to numerous soundtracks to films and television series, in particular in collaborations with her brother, composer Nicholas Méchaly. Notable examples include the soundtracks to ''

Colombiana ''Colombiana'' is a 2011 French English-language action thriller film co-written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldaña with supporting roles by Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis, Lennie James, C ...

'' (2011), ''

Taken 3 ''Taken 3'' (sometimes stylized as ''TAK3N'') is a 2015 English-language action-thriller film that is the third and final film in the ''Taken'' trilogy, starring Liam Neeson as a former government operative. The French production was directed ...

'' (2014) and ''

Midnight Sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

'' (2016).

Selected recordings

Classical albums

*''Purcell: Dido and Aeneas'', Véronique Gens, Nathan Berg, Sophie Marin-Degor, Claire Brua, Sophie Daneman, Gaëlle Méchaly, Les Arts Florissants and William Christie. Erato 4509984772 (1995). *''Ibert: Angélique'', Carmelo Caruso, Gaëlle Méchaly, Bruce Fowler; Palermo Teatro Massimo Chorus & Orchestra, led by Yoram David. Warner Fonit, 8573-83513-2 (1997). *''Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Daphnis et Chloé'', Hervé Niquet, Till Fechner, François-Nicolas Geslot, Gaëlle Méchaly. Recorded at the Grande Salle, Arsenal de Metz, France. (December 2001). Glossa 921618 *''Rameau: Zoroastre'', William Christie & Les Arts Florissants, Erato /Warner Classics 0927 43182-2 (2003). *''Rameau: Zephyre La Guirlande'' William Christie & Les Arts Florissants, Erato/Warner Classics 8573-857742 (2001)

Albums

*''Sortilèges et carafons'' (2014) A lyrical fantasy. Artistic director Natalie Dessay. Gaëlle Méchaly and Ezequiel Spucches. *''Poèmes Vol.1'' (2020) Paul Fargier & Gaëlle Méchaly, Passeur de Mots *''Les Fleurs du Mal de Charles Baudelaire, vol. 1'' (2023) Paul Fargier, Daniel Mesguich, Gaëlle Mechaly, Passeur de Mots.

Film and TV soundtracks

*''Not Afraid, Not Afraid'' (2000), soundtrack by

Gabriel Yared Gabriel Yared (; born 7 October 1949) is a Lebanese-French composer, best known for his work in French and American cinema. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Yared scored the French films '' Betty Blue'' and ''Camille Claudel''. He later worked on Eng ...

. *'' The Black Box'' (2005), soundtrack by Nathaniel Méchaly. *''

'' (2011) soundtrack by Nathaniel Méchaly. *''

'' (2014), soundtrack by Nathaniel Méchaly, "Let me weep". *''

'' (2016), soundtrack by Nathaniel Méchaly, "A Sami Lullaby" featuring Méchaly.

References

External links

*
Gaëlle Méchaly on Spotify
1970 births Living people French operatic sopranos 21st-century French singers 21st-century French women singers {{France-opera-singer-stub