Natalie Dessay, French opera singer, high coloratura soprano with a wide performing range

Natalie Dessay is a French opera singer, the owner of an extremely high coloratura soprano. He has a wide range of performance.

Natalie Dessay: Biography

The singer was born on April 19, 1965 in the city of Lyon. Dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but the choreographers dissuaded her, proving the hopelessness of the venture. Natalie did not grieve for long and soon entered acting courses, deciding to become an actress. However, this dream did not come true either, as the girl suddenly had a vocal talent. One day, on the stage of the student theater, Natalie sang Pamina's aria, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. The shocked spectators sitting in the hall could not believe that the young student had such a strong and beautiful voice. Shortly after this speech, the girl left the actors' courses.

Carier start

Natalie Dessay entered the Conservatory of Bordeaux, which she successfully graduated in 1984 and began to work as a soloist in the National Orchestra of Toulouse. Once, at the prestigious contest Les voix Nouvelles, the singer took first place, received the main prize and, in addition, an internship at the Paris Opera for one year. For a young singer, this turn of fate was a real gift.

At the end of the internship, Natalie Dessay received several proposals from the leading opera houses. She performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York , performing the part of Ficermilli in the opera "Arabella" by Richard Strauss. Then followed several performances in the Vienna Opera.

"Hoffmann's Tales"

In the spring of 1992, Natalie Dessay sang the part of Olympia in the opera production of The Offalbach's The Tales of Hoffmann (fairy tales by Hoffmann). Her partner in the stage was then Jose Van Dam. Critics reacted to the performance rather cold, but Natalie Dessay received good reviews. The role of Olympia has become a fateful singer. Her Dessy played until 2001. With the Olympia game, Natalie performed on the stage "La Scala".

In 1993, the Vienna Opera hosted the Mozart International Competition, in which Dessay won first place. And again an internship, this time for the singer who has already taken place. Now the study had to be combined with work on the stage. Here, Natalie appeared in the role of Blond in the production of "Abduction from the Seraglio." This party became one of the favorite arias of Dessay.

Natalie Dessay and Placido Domingo

And in December 1993, the singer replaced the famous Cheryl Stader on the stage of the Vienna Opera and from that moment became the darling of the Viennese audience, subduing the audience with her unsurpassed crystal clear soprano colorado. Then Natalie Dessay, the opera singer of a great original talent, received an enthusiastic response from the world-famous tenor Placido Domingo, who later became a true friend and admirer of her singing skills.

The peak of her popularity Natalie Dessay reached in the mid-nineties. By that time the singer was already known all over the world, the best conductors sent her invitations. Dessie performed at the Bavarian Opera, then at Covent Garden, she was applauded by connoisseurs of opera in Berlin, Paris, Rome and New York.

Disease

In 2001, Natalie Dessay, whose soprano suddenly began to lose purity of sound, was forced to seek advice from ENT specialists. The state of the vocal cords of the singer alarmed the professors of medicine, after careful examination, a decision was taken to operate the patient.

All the concerts and performances had to be canceled, but the public understood with understanding the trouble of the beloved performer and wished her a speedy recovery. In July 2002, Natalie Dessay lay down on the operating table. Surgical intervention was necessary, and it was successful. Six months of postoperative rehabilitation helped the singer regain strength, and she returned to the big stage in late January 2003.

However, after only a year and a half the opera diva again turns to doctors. And again consultations, analyzes, monthly stay in a hospital. The second operation was also successful. The singer does not think to say goodbye to the stage, she is full of creative plans. In April 2005, Natalie Dessay performs at the Montreal Opera and receives a weighty confirmation of her popularity. In the huge hall there was not a single free space.

After appearances in Canada, the singer carefully revises her repertoire and renounces roles that are simple in terms of performing skills, as well as from opera arias containing uninteresting librettos. Such a reverent attitude to their own repertoire is due to the fact that Dessay was determined to carry only the best music to people.

Opera diva in Russia

Natalie Dessay in Moscow was twice: the first visit is dated 2011, the second one was held recently, at the end of October 2015, when the singer gave the only concert in the Tchaikovsky Hall. The program of the performance consisted of works by Giuseppe Verdi, Donizetti, Massenet and vocal miniatures by Mendelssohn, Schubert and Dupark. The next visit of the singer to Moscow will take place in 2017, she will perform at the International House of Music, on the Kosmodamianskaya Embankment.

June 18, 2010 Natalie Dessay took part in a big gala concert at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

The life of the singer today

Currently, the opera diva lives for the most part in the US and touring Europe. The singer's personal life has developed successfully, she has been married to an opera singer Laurent Nauri for many years. The couple have two children. To combine a legal marriage with her husband, Natalie accepted Judaism.