It has been 27 years since the renowned soprano, Sandrine Piau, graced the stage of the prestigious Grand Théâtre, captivating audiences with her mesmerizing voice. The memory of her last performance in Mozart’s ‘Mitridate’ lingers in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to witness her talent.
Now, in the twilight phase of her career, the soprano receives a surprising invitation from the Grand Théâtre to return for a special commemorative event. Nostalgia and curiosity are intertwined as she revisits her past glory.
As Sandrine embarks on this journey down memory lane, she finds herself immersed in a whirlwind of emotions. Flashbacks transport her back to that memorable production of ‘Mitridate,’ where she collaborated with conductor John Keenan and director Francisco Negrin. Their artistic synergy created magic on stage, leaving an indelible mark on Piau’s career.
In addition to her reappearance at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, she will be appearing on an international diplomatic stage where nations meet. Sandrine Piau comments: ‘I don’t know if music can soften the blow, but we all need glimmers of hope amongst chaos in our world. It’s undeniable that music unites people from all walks of life, all cultures and all languages, and I wish diplomacy could work the same miracle. Diplomacy is often battered by the divergent interests of nations, but it remains a bulwark against barbarism.”
Sandrine Piau by GTMag.
As everyone knows, the singer has an exquisite background in the baroque style, but she confesses that she did not choose it, but it was an encounter of chance and luck. She considers luck to be a wonderful thing, something fleeting that must be seized in the midst of work, and remarks: “As a pessimist by nature, I can imagine that many people have not had the opportunity to take advantage of their luck.”
In her case, successive encounters with Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie and then Christophe Rousset proved integral to her introduction to Baroque music. As were encounters with emblematic figures such as G. Leonhardt, N. Harnoncourt, J.-C. Malgoire, etc., as well as meetings with the great musicians of baroque music. Malgoire, etc. and the new generation: R. Pichon, J. Correas, O. Dantone, F. Biondi, R. Alessandrini. Finally, her position in the Baroque scene has allowed her to broaden her repertoire and return to the memories of her youth with more contemporary pieces than Baroque.
To further develop her career, she has sung under the direction of Michel Corboz and conductors such as M.-W. Chung, Ch. Dutoit, D. Harding, L. Langrée, A. Altinoglu, M. Plasson, L. Equilbey, S. Mälkki, Pierre Audi, Pierre Constant, Olivier Py, Laurent Pelly, Christophe Honoré, William Kentridge, Robert Carsen and Christof Loy.
She recently released her album ‘Intimate Journey,’ which invites the audience not to think, but to travel through their own emotions and to entertain them in the etymological sense of the word.
If we examine one of the lyrics of the songs on her album, we find a passage that reads:
I come from I don’t know where
I don’t know who I am
I die, I don’t know when
I’m going, I don’t know where
I’m surprised I’m so happy.
As she rightly points out, “You can’t be alone in the world, and that goes for music too. Especially in piano recitals, you form a real duo with your partner. David Kadouch is like a kindred spirit in my relationship with poetry and music. To intertwine our voices in this “Voyage intime” is a joy, and I hope we will continue to work together for a long time.”
Here you will find more information about the concert.
