Schubert Club Song Recitals
Sandrine Piau, soprano and
Susan Manoff, piano
Tuesday, May 1, 7:30pm
Landmark Center, Saint Paul directions
"Ms. Piau is an agile singer with an attractively dark tone and an arsenal of expressive moves..." - The New York Times
Sandrine Piau's Biography
A renowned figure in the world of Baroque music, French soprano Sandrine Piau performs regularly with such celebrated conductors as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Rousset, Gustav Leonhardt, Sigiswald Kuijken, Ton Koopman, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, Fabio Biondi, Michel Corboz, Josep Pons and Louis Langrée.
Ms Piau embraces both the lyric and Baroque repertoire, and performs roles such as Pamina from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Titania from Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Servilia from Gluck's La Clemenza di Tito.
Previous engagements have taken her to the Grand Théâtre de Genève to perform the role of Ismène in Mitridate, Re di Ponto. She has also been to the Théâtre des Champs Elysées to sing Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito and Aennchen in Weber's Der Freischütz. At the Théâtre du Châtelet, she was Ismène, Nerine in Rameau’s Les Paladins and Wanda in Offenbach’s La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein.
Ms Piau has been invited by Opéra National de Bordeaux to sing Titania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari to sing Pamina, by Opéra de Montpellier, Dresden Festival to sing in Handel's Xerxes (Rousset/Hampe), Drottningholm Festival to sing Asteria in Handel's Tamerlano (Rousset/Audi) and Bayersiche Staatsoper and Opéra National de Bordeaux to sing Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Recent opera projects include singing Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Atalanta at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Nanetta (Falstaff) at Grand Théatre de Bordeaux, , Sophie in Massenet's Werther at both the Capitole de Toulouse and the Théâtre du Châtelet., both Pamina and Cleopatra at La Monnaie Brussels and Titania, A Midsummer Nights Dream at the Opera National de Lyon……
Ms. Piau appears regularly in concert. In recent years she has performed at the Salzburg Festival, Covent Garden Festival and Montreux Festival, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro Communale in Florence, Teatro Communale di Bologna, and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris.
Sandrine Piau takes great pleasure in the art of recital. As a singer of both French and German repertoire, she has performed with many renowned recital accompanists, such as Jos van Immerseel, Myung-Whun Chung, Georges Pludermacher, Roberto Negri, Billy Eidi, David Selig, Christian Ivaldi, Alexandre Tharaud, Jérôme Hantaï and Corine Durous. Recital appearances include Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, The Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall, New York.
Ms Piau has an exclusive recording contract with the record company Naïve. Her disc of Mozart Arias, accompanied by the Freiburger Barockorchester met with an extremely enthusiastic critical response and was awarded the Prix Charles Cros. Her second album on the Naïve label, Debussy Mélodies, accompanied by Jos van Imserseel, was awarded the ‘Prix Ravel’ at the Orphée Awards in Paris. Handel’s Arias Seria with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques was awarded Editor’s Choice by Gramophone in January 2005 and won the Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize 2005.
In 2008, she released a Franco-German recital programme entitled “Evocations” based on texts making reference to women in the third person. It was again awarded Editors Choice by Gramophone and “Diamant d’Opéra” by Opera Magazine. Ms. Piau gave her Carnegie Hall debut recital based on this disc. The New York Times wrote ‘superb French soprano sang with a clear and deeply expressive voice, nuanced phrasing and immaculate control’. This recital was followed by a series of recitals across Europe.
2009 saw two new Handel recordings in her continued collaboration with Naïve. The first an eclectic selection of duets with the contralto Sara Mingardo; and the second, Between Heaven and Earth, met with popular and critical acclaim (MIDEM Classical Album of the Year 2010).
In 2010-2011, Sandrine Piau sings in L’Incoronazione di Poppea in Köln, in La Finta Giardiniera (Sandrina) at la Monnaie Brussels and gives several recitals including Wigmore Hall.
Sandrine Piau’s star is on the rise. Hers is the bewitching soprano from the hit film HOME. Recently Sandrine was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and 2009 she received the ‘Opera Singer of the Year’ award at Les Victoires de la Musique awards.
Program
| Nachtliebe Neue Liebe Schlafloser Augen Leuchte Hexenleid (Andres Maienlied) |
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) |
| En sourdine Prison Les berceaux Après un rêve |
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) |
| Amour d'antan Dans la forêt du charme et de l'enchantement Les heures |
Amédée-Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) |
| Morgen Das Geheimnis, Opus 17, No. 3 Die Nacht, Opus 10, No. 3 Stänchen |
Richard Strauss (1864–1949) |
| --Intermission-- |
|
| Galgenlieder (cycle) Mondendinge Der Hecht Die Mitternachtsmaus Das wasser Galgenkindes Wiegenlied |
Vincent Bouchot (b. 1966) |
| Montparnasse Hyde Park « C » Fêtes Galantes |
Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) |
| The Sally Gardens There's none to soothe |
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) |