Karine Deshayes Mezzo-soprano

© Aymeric Giraudel

Biography

Karine Deshayes studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Mireille Alcantara after completing a degree in Music at the Sorbonne. She took part in master classes with Régine Crespin and joined the Lyon Opera Company where she interpreted the roles of Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Stefano in Romeo and Juliet and Rosina in The Barber of Seville amongst others. In 2002, she took part in Dvorak’s Rusalka at the Paris Opera and then performed at the Salzburg Festival in The Magic Flute (second lady) under the direction of Ricardo Muti. In 2006 she made her New York debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Siebel in Faust. Her repertoire includes numerous roles: the title roles in La Cenerentola, Cinderella, La Navarraise and Carmen; Elena (La Donna del Lago), Isolier (Le Comte Ory), Charlotte (Werther), Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), Sesto (Giulio Cesare), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito), Fenena (Nabucco), Urbain (Les Huguenots), Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Adalgisa (Norma), Isoletta (La Straniera) and Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi). She is a regular performer at the world’s great opera houses: the Metropolitan Opera of New York, San Francisco Opera, Teatro Real Madrid and the Liceu in Barcelona. She recently sang the title roles in La Belle Hélène in Toulon and La Cenerentola in San Francisco; under the direction of James Levine, she sang the part of Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She has also performed in recitals and concerts, notably under the direction of Emmanuelle Haïm, Emmanuel Krivine, David Stern, Kurt Masur, Louis Langrée, Myun-Whun Chung and Josep Pons. Karine Deshayes was awarded first prize in the Concours des Voix Nouvelles 2002 (New Voices Competition) and in the operatic artist class of the Victoires de la Musique 2011. She has made numerous recordings in a variety of repertoire: Cantates Romantiques Françaises, La Bonne Chanson by Fauré, La Chanson d’Eve with Hélène Lucas and Schéhérazade by Ravel.

Immerse in the Paris Opera universe

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