Natalie Dessay |

Natalie Dessay

Nathalie Dessay was born April 19, 1965 in Lyon and grew up in Bordeaux. While still at school, she dropped the “h” from her first name (née Nathalie Dessaix), after actress Natalie Wood, and later simplified the spelling of her last name.

In her youth, Dessay dreamed of becoming a ballerina or an actress and took acting lessons. Nathalie Dessay entered the State Conservatory in Bordeaux, completed a five-year study in just one year and graduated with honors in 1985. After the conservatory she worked with the National Orchestra of the Capitole of Toulouse.

In 1989, she took second place in the New Voices competition held by France Telecom, which allowed her to study at the Paris Opera School of Lyric Arts for a year and perform there as Eliza in Mozart’s The Shepherd King. In the spring of 1992, she sang the part of Olympia from Offenbach’s Les Hoffmann at the Bastille Opera with José van Dam as her partner. The performance disappointed critics and audiences, but the young singer received a standing ovation and was noticed. This role will become a landmark for her, until 2001 she will sing Olympia in eight different productions, including during her debut at La Scala.

In 1993, Natalie Dessay won the international Mozart competition held by the Vienna Opera and remained to study and perform at the Vienna Opera. Here she sang the role of Blonde from Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, which became another well-known and most frequently performed part.

In December 1993, Natalie was offered to replace Cheryl Studer in the role of Olympia at the Vienna Opera. Her performance was recognized by the audience in Vienna and praised by Placido Domingo, in the same year she performed with this role at the Lyon Opera.

Natalie Dessay’s international career began with performances at the Vienna Opera. In the 1990s, her fame constantly grew, and her repertoire constantly expanded. There were many offers, she performed at all the leading opera houses in the world – the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Bavarian Opera, Covent Garden and others.

In the 2001/2002 season, Dessay began experiencing vocal problems and had to cancel her performances and recitals. She retired from the stage and underwent vocal cord surgery in July 2002. In February 2003 she returned to the stage with a solo concert in Paris and actively continued her career. In the 2004/2005 season, Natalie Dessay had to undergo a second operation. The next performance took place in May 2005 in Montreal.

The return of Natalie Dessay was accompanied by a reorientation in her lyrical repertoire. She eschews “light,” shallow roles (like Gilda in “Rigoletto”) or roles she doesn’t want to play anymore (Queen of the Night or Olympia) in favor of more tragic characters.

Today, Natalie Dessay is at the pinnacle of her career and is the leading soprano of today. Lives and performs mainly in the USA, but constantly tours in Europe. Russian fans could see her in St. Petersburg in 2010 and in Moscow in 2011. In early 2011, she made her debut as Cleopatra in Handel’s Julius Caesar at the Opéra Garnier, and returned to the Metropolitan Opera with her traditional Lucia di Lammermoor. , then appeared in Europe with a concert version of Pelléas et Mélisande in Paris and London.

There are many projects in the singer’s immediate plans: La Traviata in Vienna in 2011 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012, Cleopatra in Julius Caesar at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013, Manon at the Paris Opera and La Scala in 2012, Marie (“Daughter of the Regiment”) in Paris in 2013, Elvira in the Met in 2014.

Natalie Dessay is married to bass-baritone Laurent Nauri and they have two children.