i España hola!

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As a little remembrance for " El seráfico"....


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Hello Philippe, welcome with all my heart! I will see you and hear you tomorrow!. Do not know how to thank you for coming back to Madrid, you can not imagine what you mean to me, are the joy, passion, beauty ... God bless you!

I will include one translation here, the other will be coming soon:The "seraphic" Philippe Jaroussky returns to the Real with a fireworks concert.

Philippe Jaroussky (Maisons Lafitte l978 - this sounds like a marvelous wine vintage !!!_ ) Used to hate being told he had an angels voice but now, when his chimeric countertenor has gained in power he has accepted that it is his "ethereal color" that fills theaters like the Real, where on Saturday he will give a fireworks recital.

The frenchman, the most prestigious and poller of countertenors - the voice one imagines most like the castrati's of 200 years ago - is "happy" with his life, his career and choices such as the return to the Real to give his first recital in Spain and to do it with a repertory which will " excite", he promises in an interview with EFE.
For his return to the "splendid" Real, in which a year and a half ago he was acclaimed as Nerone in "LIncoronazione di Poppea", role he doubts he will repeat due to its extreme difficulties, has chosen "Fireworks for a Castrato" with which he has toured the USA for 2 weeks with great success.

It is a "less musicologic" program than the ones this expert in baroque music usually sings, because he wanted the public to "fall in love" with the arias which have given him the most "luck", meaning compositions from Antonio Vivaldi and others from the "greatest genius of music" which to him is none other than Georg Friedrich Haendel, who he wants to dedicate more time in the future.

This program, "like a party, conceived to delight" that he interprets with the excellent and magnificent baroque group from Cleveland Apollo's Fire conducted by the harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrel has "a lot of coloratura" as well as "feeling and sweetness" with "pieces de resistance "such as the incredible "Vedro con mio diletto" seen around 1,4 million times on YouTube.

"Some times one has to give the public what they want" - he laughs . The first 4 arias are Haendel's and they are not his best known. From "Ariodante" I sing "Manca, oh Dei, la mia costanza" , my favorite and which I had not sung in 10 years".
He has been surprised to listen to himself in this piece because, he says, a decade ago his voice was higher,lighter, and now it has more potency.

"At the beginning of my career I was really afraid to try, to darken my voice and not to let it grow, but now I am happy with its evolution and I am letting it sound out and even if I do not have the most powerful voice in the world it can fill a theatre and stay natural at the same time as transmitting all the emotion" the artist assures, obsessed by escaping the "falsetto".
His voice, a mixture of a masculine energy and feminine sweetness but with the liquid purity of a child, uses the exterior part of the vocal cords and he works daily to cling to the firm ground of naturally and sincerity of his extraordinary timbre.

"A few years ago I wanted to change the repertoire because I was tired of the roles written for soprano. Now I have discovered that my voice has not changed its tessiture much and it is more soprano or mezzo than alto, and this helps me sound even more natural and is in better balance with the orchestra".

Jeannette Sorrel, in conversing with EFE says Jaroussky is "exquisite", a "very serious artist" and "an angel", something he did not like "at all" a few years back but that now accepts because he says "his voice is more angelic than dramatic" which "does not mean , he remarks,"that I am angelic in my life".

"This is the timber of my voice and it is not by chance that "Vedro con mio diletto" is so popular with people. This ethereal color is the signature of my voice but the paradox is that according to the role, it can be angelic as well as demonic".

The countertenor prepares to sing, next year, an opera about the painter Caravaggio in which he wants to put his voice to serve the wild side, to speak of "the genius of God and the darkness of humanity", and the role of Sesto in "Julius Cesar" for the Salzburg festival with Cecilia Bartoli and Anne Sofie von Otter.
I know. I am so lucky!" jokes the singer, who "needs" recitals as well as opera "different pleasures" because of the preparation and venues.

"In opera one is like a small gear but this way of working is very important for a singer because one is less narcissistic and it is very good to listen to others because one can learn many things " he adds humbly.

Concha Barrigos.

Dear tuffy!!many thanks !

You are more than welcome, cara Joanna!!!

And here is the other interview from El Cultural:




We countertenors are either loved or hated"

He sings like the angels but interprets the most diabolical roles. The french countertenor returns tomorrow to the Teatro Real with a recital of dandelion arias for castrato and a new cd in his pocket, Duetti, about the italian school in the 18th century.

Philippe Jaroussky is just afraid of the air conditioning in the theaters. "I spend the day drinking water like a possessed man," he tells El Cultural. Tomorrow he has a date in the Teatro Real in the company of Apollo's Fire (Cleveland Baroque Orchestra) Conducted by the american Jeannette Sorrel. " Fireworks for a Castrato " is the name of a program of Handel arias and instrumental music, who is precisely the basis of his last cd recording, Duetti, where he and his croatian colleague Max Emanuel Cencic and William Christies's Arts Florissant musicians tackle a fistful of duets, chamber music and arias written by italian composers at the beginning of the 18th century: Giovanni Bononcini, Francesco Mancini, Nicola Porpora and Benedetto Marcello. "We speak of some of the greatest influences on young Handel, which is the reason for the cd, even if it does not contain any of his work, it is in essence very dandelion".

With the same program he brings to Madrid he will appear in December at the Liceu de Barcelona and the Teatro Colon de la Coruna, as part of a world wide tour that affirms his vocal prowess with many recordings ( He is preparing several spanish songs with Christina Pluhar), Opera engagements (Sesto in the new Julius Cesar production in the Salzburg Festival) and numerous recitals. "It has been a long time since I have not spent more than a week at home" boasts the singer, who has become the latest baroque super seller and the biggest exponent of a generation of voices that are recuperating the castrati repertoire but that has also attracted the attention of the present composers. Proof is in the opera Caravaggio written for him by the french composer Suzanne Giraud and which will be premiered at the Metz Theatre next May. " The castrato voice is back to being used as a tool to give colors to the score".

-Duetti is an exercise of baroque intimacy. Are you healing of something?
-When I have been working for a long time on great opera arias the body wants baroque. The chamber orchestras invite to dialogue and interaction. In the rehearsals every one has opinions and there is a creative chaos I consider very healthy. The musicians get involved, they don't hide in the mass. They know their choices condition the rest of the music. A work such as Duetti forces you to rehearse without looking at the clock.

-And also to spend time closeted in a library…
-Part of my work consists of understanding what I sing. To choose which way tog o I must know the scores well, know the how and why. I went to a library looking for Mozart and ended up recording a cd of arias of Johann Christian Bach. In the same way, fortuitous and magical, Metastasio took me to Caldara. And so many other times. Now I spend my day in airplanes. But I assure you that the internet is a gigantic container of scores and manuscripts.

- How has your formation as a violinist influenced your career as a countertenor?
-The violin taught me to be precise and to read the music in a certain way, still there in my subconscious. It is a part of my education. Later I learned one cannot sing only with one's mind but one's entire body, from head to toes, plays a basic role. Now I know that to sing well is to live well: be honest with yourself and have a peaceful mind.

-How have you shared the vocal space with Cencic?
-The countertenor's tessiture has shown to be much wider and more versatile than people used to think. Cencic and I have two very different instruments, but at the same time the merit in this recording is that we are so involved that sometimes it is not clear who sings.

-It is funny that they say you sing like the angels when you must give life to certain monteverdian roles, don't you think?
-I like to take charge of that ambiguity, between the way the character I am playing behaves and how I sing what he says and feels. It allows me to stress the contrasts and the expressive nuances, staying away from caricatures and manichean contrasts. Nerone for example is a madman but also a dreamer, a poet, an idealist. He is a prisoner of his destiny, he is evil but above all he is true to himself. And this is something not everyone can say.

-And in churches, how do you reconcile devotion and the sensuality of the sacred repertory?
-People are surprised that I see myself as a spiritual person and an atheist. I feel it is perfectly compatible and in fact, allows me to go further. To cross for instance the emotional line in the Stabat Mater by Pergolesi. To show not everything is faith but also body and passion.

-Why isn't there a middle of the road from the public towards countertenors?
-We are loved or hated. There is an extreme reaction because there is no indifference. Whereas for some it is ridiculous for a man to sing in a high voice, others admire our voice and ask for us to get more of the women's roles in opera.

-The public cannot hide a certain morbidity before the risk you assume. Have you ever felt a little bit like a trapeze artist?
-I am not interested so much in climbing as in finding the depths in music. This is why I have never confused the theater with the circus, but it is true I have assumed certain pyrotechnic risks than advisable.And I have done it because I believe the action creates the character and it is important that the public notices that one is giving all each night.

-Which would you say is the hardest aria in the catalog?
-In this tour I sing Con ali di costanza from Handel's Ariodante. The last time I sang it was in the Conservatory in Paris about 10 years ago. I know I could not sing the complete role but I like to take the measure of my possibilities. One never knows….

Benjamin Rosado. Published 11/11/11

He is such an interesting man!!!!!Besides beautiful and gorgeous singer! Sigh........

Dear tuffy,
Thank you so much!!!

Dear tuffy942


Thank you, queridissima ! Translations made with love!

I believe, Philippe can be proud of such faithful, loved and altruistic admirer .

"Manca, oh Dei! La mia costanza" is arioso of Ginevra?....hm......OMG.

And then also "Con ali di costanza" ? ....we ´ll have the new Ariodante...soon ? Though, of course, he could not sing the complete role, but one never knows...

I just saw I wrote "dandelion" instead of Handelian.....It may be my spell checker but I am sorry,, just substitute~~~~

Tuffy (Maria)

My dearest JaRoWi, I am happy you liked the translations!!!!Now I have to find out what I meant by the word "poller" in the first interview!!!!!Ay ay ay, old age!
Certainly the translations are made with much love, you know it! This is the longest I have gone without seeing Philippe (since May! and I am having withdrawal symptoms. So this keeps me in touch.
And... as he says who knows? He is such a determined young man that I believe he can do anything he puts his mind - and talent - to. Baci mille!!!!

Ready for the next one? This is a review of his Madrid concert rather than an interview....What a success!!!!!

The "angel" (in spanish charm, or magic) of Philippe Jaroussky makes the Real fall in LOVE>

Philippe Jaroussky had to do 3 encores tonight because the public, after over 2 hours of concert would not move from their seats except to stand and yell "bravo", a welcome for his first Teatro Real recital that the french countertenor has appreciated "to the bottom of his heart".
"It is fantastic, I am shaking with emotion", he said to EFE as soon as the concert was over and even if he had chosen a program he knew was going to "enamor the public", to such point that an hour later he was still signing cd's at the theatre's doors.

The possibly most popular countertenor in the world with a voice half way between a child's and a woman's but with a man's bravura, such as one imagines the mythical castrato Farinelli's must have been, has spoken in spanish to the public to thank them the enthusiastic applauses each one of his arias was received with.

Same as Jeannette Sorrell, conductress(?) of Apollo's Fire,baroque ensemble from Cleveland Ohio who after a failed attempt at spanish used her italian to say they were "delighted" to be in this "wonderful"theatre.

The recital, planned for the so called "Nights at the Real", and for which there was not a single ticket left since weeks ago, was put together around the pieces that "have given him the most luck", meaning arias of Vivaldi and Haendel.

The first part has been dedicated to Haendel, "the greatest musical genius", and the chosen have been ""Se potessero i sospir" from "imeneo" and "Con ali di costanza" from "Ariodante", his favorite, which he had not sung for 10 years.
This aria, "full of coloratura", emotion and sweetness has served to show him, he explained to EFE recently, that his voice has gained in power without losing the highs that characterize this "angel" as a natural soprano or mezzo and without falsetto.

The second part has been dedicated to Vivaldi starting with "Se mai senti spirit soul volto" from Catone in Utica, then the piece that catapults his "ethereal" and 'liquid" color of his voice, "Vedro con mio diletto" from Giustino, finishing with "Fra le procelle" from Tito Manlio.

For the encores he has saved "Alto Giovani(sic)" Porpora's aria that made Farinelli so famous, "Venti Turbini" from from Haendel's Rinaldo and has finished with another one from this composer "Ombra mai fu" from Serse, with which he caused the theater to stand up after nearly 2 and a half hours of concert.

Sorrell, who conducts as well as play the clavicembalo has succeeded in communicating the emotions and connect with the public with her 12 musicians- violins, violas, cellos, bass and theorbo- from the instrumental piece that opened the first part "Concert for 2 violins in Re major"(I don't know the notes in letters, sorry) from Vivaldi and the second one, "Chaconne in Sol Major"(same) from Il Parnasso in festa.

But the piece that electrified the public from their seat was "Sonnata in trio in Re minor" by Vivaldi" "La Follia" with Sorrel's own arrangement and interpreted by Olivier Brault and Johanna Novom.

Sorrel's style is very animated, with a lot of interaction between the musicians and her role in playing the clavichord is to carry the basso continuo, the lower line and the harmony, determining, in the style of greek orators, "the tricks" of suspense, tension and drama for each aria, leaving Brault to carry the melodic line.

Concha Barrigos.

Trans.Maria Adams-tuffy

Spoiler:

Que hermosura!!!!! The last review I got is here in english.....Our Tesoro is definitely TOP and very hot!!! Thank you so much for the pix.....ravishing....
Jaroussky lights up the fireworks at the Real

Under the name "Fireworks for a Castrato" Last night at the theatre at Plaza de Oriente celebrated Philippe Jaroussky's concert with pieces from Vivaldi and Haendel, framed under the cycle Nights at the Real.The young and successful french countertenor was accompanied by the baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire from Cleveland, conducted by Jeannette Sorrell, in an evening characterized by enthusiastic acclaim of bravo, that rewarded each one of his delicate interpretations.

The fact of running into posters, upon arrival at the theatre, announcing that the artist would sign his cds upon finishing his concert offered an important clue that on stage there was a "phenomenon" that arouse passions among some of his admirers, dedicated Jaroussky fans. If on top of this it was impossible to find one single empty seat, whatever effort one would put in trying, and that the acclaims of Bravo started as soon as he finished his first piece in the program, the result was for sure previsible and as such sought for and expected by those who treasured for weeks the tickets to see J's concert, who is considered the great new french vocal talent, capable of amazing with his coloratura wherever he sings and first super hit sales countertenor in history.

In fact yesterday's evening followed step by step the guidelines of all the successful world wide appearances of the countertenor. In this case with a program he himself described as "less musicologist" than the ones he usually shows, to offer the public at the Real - where he already had been onstage a year and a half ago with L"Incoronazion di Poppea" - the arias that have brought him the most "luck": Compositions by Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Friedrich Haendel. With ovations from his first appearance with the accomplished orchestra Apollo's Fire "The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra" founded in 1992 by conductor and clavichordist Jeannette Sorrell, the night progressed to a frantically applauded finale with the public standing as one and the usual encores, starting with one first part dedicated to 4 Haendel arias and 2 instrumental pieces composed by Vivaldi. To note, Ariodante's aria "Con ali di costanza", one of Jaroussky's favorites in spite of not having sung it in 10 years and which he says now surprises him "because a decade ago the voice was lighter and higher and now has more power".

During the second part of the program, starting with a Ciaccona for clavichord by Bach, Jaroussky interpreted 3 arias by Vivaldi in which he delighted once more for his ethereal color and the virtuosism of his technique. Used to the passionate demonstrations of a public "in love" with who is now the "countertenor of the time" and who is even followed throughout the different theaters of the world, he wished to thank in spanish before starting on his first encore of the night, "Alto Giove", Porpora's aria that brought fame to the great Farinelli.A piece with a tempered and harmonic beauty, followed by the conductor's thanks and 2 more encores, "Venti Turbini" from Rinaldo by Haendel and at last , also by the same composer, "Ombra mai fu: from the opera Serse, closed with the perfect finale after almost 2 and a half hours of intense recital, although not the end of the evening since and hour later Jaroussky was still signing cd's at the theatre's doors.

For next year the countertenor prepares an opera about the painter Caravaggio and the role of Sesto in Giulio Cesare for the festival in Salzburg where he will share the stage with Cecilia Bartoli and Ann Sofie von Otter, a date for which many without a doubt are already making plans.

Duffy, great translations of great fun and interesting reviews and interviews!

Btw: Re is D and Sol is G. But only if you start Do on the C, and you can pretty much start Do on anything you agree on, but C is customary.

How wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing these marvelous reviews and pictures! You're all so generous!!!

One review also from the concert in Lisbon, Portugal
(also directly in English):

PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY + APOLLO'S FIRE – Fundação Gulbenkian, Novembro 2011
Philippe Jaroussky + Apollo's Fire - Gulbenkian, November 2011

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Another review about his latest concert in Madrid:

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Como para haber nacido en Chateaux-Lafitte! Este muchachito es de lo mejor de las cepas!Como decis en Espana, "Ole tu madre" , no? Dear Pilar, lovely interview, thank you!

Irremediablemente in love!!!

Exacto!

We say that in order to honor the mother of suxh a great one!!

We are all in love with him

BTW, did you see my new topic about trolls? What's your opinion?