Natalie Dessay Makes New York Debut at Carnegie Hall Tonight

French soprano Natalie Dessay makes her highly anticipated New York recital debut tonight, March 12 at 8:00 p.m. at Carnegie Hall in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, joined by pianist and frequent collaborator Philippe Cassard. Ms. Dessay and Mr. Cassard recently released an acclaimed recording of Debussy's works in 2012 (Virgin Classics), two of which are featured in this program-"Apparition," and "La romance d'Ariel." The program also features German works by Brahms, Clara Schumann, and Richard Strauss, and French works by Duparc, Poulenc, and Fauré. Full program information is below.

About the Artists
Soprano Natalie Dessay is considered one of the stars of today's operatic world, thrilling audiences as both a singer and an actress. She is now an admired interpreter of bel canto and lyric heroines such as Violetta (La traviata), Lucia di Lammermoor, Marie (La fille du régiment), Amina (La sonnambula), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Manon, Juliette, Ophélie (Hamlet), and Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Ms. Dessay originally made her reputation with showpiece coloratura roles such as Olympia (Contes d'Hoffmann), Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte) and Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos).

Born in Lyons in 1965, Ms. Dessay grew up in Bordeaux. She first dreamed of becoming a dancer but later studied acting and singing at the Bordeaux Conservatoire. In 1989, after a brief period in the chorus of the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, she entered France's first Concours des Voix nouvelles and won second prize. This led her to further studies at the Paris Opera and also brought her to the attention of the agent Thérèse Cédelle-still her agent today-and to her first major engagements as a soloist.

In 2001, Ms. Dessay's career entered a new phase when she performed the title role in Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor, a role she subsequently sang in 2004 in Chicago, in 2006 at the Bastille in a powerful staging by Andrei Serban, and in a new production for the opening of the Metropolitan Opera's 2007-2008 season. She also recorded the French version of the opera for Virgin Classics.

Ms. Dessay signed her first exclusive contract with EMI Classics / Virgin Classics in 1994, and, in addition to the recordings already mentioned, her catalogue includes discs of Mozart, songs and arias by Strauss, and works by Monteverdi, Bach, and Handel, all conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm, and collections of Italian arias and French arias and vocalises. Her 2-CD and DVD compilations Le Miracle d'une voix, released in 2006, have proved an enormous success, selling over 250,000 copies and showcasing her range of achievement as an artist.

Philippe Cassard has established an international reputation as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician since giving a joint recital with Christa Ludwig in Paris in 1985. The same year, he was a finalist at the Clara Haskil Competition, and in 1988, he won the First Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition.

His concert appearances include performances with the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Wales, and Orchestre National de France. He has worked with many conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Jeffrey Tate, Vladimir Fedossejev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Raymond Leppard, Charles Dutoit, Armin Jordan, Marek Janowski, Emmanuel Krivine, and Thierry Fischer.

Mr. Cassard's performance of the complete piano works of Debussy (four recitals in a single day) received extremely enthusiastic press and media coverage. He has presented the cycle in London at Wigmore Hall, Dublin, Paris, Lisbon, Sydney, Singapore and Tokyo. His Debussy recordings published by Decca were awarded the Grand Prix du Disque Français in 1994.

Mr. Cassard also plays a huge repertoire of chamber music, and he has appeared with such artists as Natalie Dessay, Wolfgang Holzmair, Paul Meyer, David Grimal, Anne Gastinel, Matt Haimovitz, and Isabelle Faust as well as the Ebène, Modigliani, Takács, Auryn, Vanbrugh, Danish, and Chilingirian string quartets. He served as artistic director of the Nuits Romantiques du Lac du Bourget festival from 1999-2008 and since 2005 has presented over 300 live weekly programs dedicated to piano interpretation on France Musique Radio.

Program Information
Wednesday, March 12 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
NATALIE DESSAY, Soprano
New York Recital Debut
PHILIPPE CASSARD, Piano

CLARA SCHUMANN "Liebst du um Schönheit," Op. 12, No. 2
CLARA SCHUMANN "Geheimes Flüstern," Op. 23
CLARA SCHUMANN "Sie liebten sich beide," Op. 13
CLARA SCHUMANN "Er ist gekommen," Op. 12, No. 1
JOHANNES BRAHMS "Geheimnis," Op. 71, No. 3
JOHANNES BRAHMS "Meine Lieder," Op. 106, No. 4
HENRI DUPARC "L'invitation au voyage"
HENRI DUPARC "Extase"
JOHANNES BRAHMS "Lerchengesang," Op. 70, No. 2
RICHARD STRAUSS "Säusle, liebe Myrthe," Op. 68, No. 3
RICHARD STRAUSS "Wasserrose," Op. 22, No. 4
RICHARD STRAUSS "Ich schwebe," Op. 48, No. 2
RICHARD STRAUSS "Frühlingsgedränge," Op. 26, No. 1
FRANCIS POULENC Fiançailles pour rire, Op. 101
GABRIEL FAURÉ "Clair de lune," Op. 46, No. 2
GABRIEL FAURÉ "Prison," Op. 83, No. 1
GABRIEL FAURÉ "Mandoline" from Cinq mélodies "de Venise," Op. 58, No. 1
GABRIEL FAURÉ "En sourdine" from Cinq mélodies "de Venise," Op. 58, No. 2
GABRIEL FAURÉ "Après un rêve," Op. 7, No. 1
CLAUDE DEBUSSY "Apparition"
CLAUDE DEBUSSY "La romance d'Ariel"

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

Ticket Information Tickets, priced $31-$92, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. For Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer. In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visitcarnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Photo at the top of release by Simon Fowler

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