Natalie Dessay

After an exceptional career on the world’s most prestigious stages (Metropolitan Opera in New York, Vienna Staatsoper, La Scala in Milan, Royal Opera House in London, Opéra National de Paris…) in roles such as the Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Lucia di Lammermoor, Lakmé, Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Ophélie (Hamlet), Manon, Violetta Valery (La Traviata), Marie (La Fille du Régiment), and Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Natalie Dessay chose to shift her focus to recitals, theater, and chanson. Her decisive meeting with Michel Legrand solidified this transition. This collaboration led to a tour across Europe and America, a production of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg at the Théâtre du Châtelet, and the release of the albums Entre Elle et Lui and Between Yesterday and Tomorrow. She was also invited by the Théâtre du Châtelet to perform in Stephen Sondheim’s musical Passion, directed by Fanny Ardant.

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At the same time, she continues her career as a recitalist in duo with pianist Philippe Cassard. Together, they have recorded the albums Debussy, Fiançailles pour rire, and Schubert. Natalie Dessay is the first French operatic artist to be named Kammersängerin by the Vienna Staatsoper. Theater now occupies a significant part of her artistic life.