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Maestro Dessay

A portrait of the best-known French soprano

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A portrait of Natalie Dessay, a peerless soprano and actress.

After dreaming of being a star dancer, Natalie Dessay discovered that she had a talent for singing, and joined Bordeaux Conservatory, leaving with first prize at the age of 20! In 1989, after being revealed by the Concours des Voix nouvelles singing competition, she joined Paris Opera School. Everything happened very fast, and in 1992, she performed one of her favourite roles: Olympia in the Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, directed by Roman Polanski. She joined the Vienna Staatsoper company and then sang Olympia again at Lyon Opera, directed by Louis Erlo.

She performed at La Scala, Covent Garden, Barcelona and the Metropolitan Opera in many roles, including Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment by Donizetti, for which she won the Laurence Olivier Award, a prestigious theatre prize. She worked with the director Laurent Pelly in the opera by Donizetti, which was performed again in 2012 at the Paris Opera, as well as her first performance as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, directed by Emmanuelle Haïm. She is also in demand for recitals, excelling in programmes dedicated to Debussy, and as a solo performer in collaborations with many artists.

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