Agnès Mellon

Agnès Mellon is a French soprano specialized in the baroque repertoire, born in 1958.

Contents

Biography

Agnès Mellon started her career at the beginning of the 1980s with the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants directed by William Christie, with whom, between 1981 and 1993, she interpreted Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Monteverdi, Luigi Rossi, Michel Lambert, Henry Purcell, Lully, Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, Rameau...

She was during the 1980s one of the pillars of that baroque ensemble, together with Guillemette Laurens, Jill Feldman, Dominique Visse, Etienne Lestringant, Michel Laplénie, Philippe Cantor, Gregory Reinhart, François Fauché...

Since 1985, Agnès Mellon has also worked a lot under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe, with La Chapelle Royale (1985–1990) and the Collegium Vocale Gent (1990–1996), interpreting Charpentier, Heinrich Schütz, Monteverdi, Jean Gilles, Bach...

At the end of the 1980s, she worked regularly with the Belgian ensemble Ricercar Consort, under the artistic direction of the Belgian musicologist Jérôme Lejeune.

She further worked with various conductors like Dominique Visse, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, John Eliot Gardiner, Christophe Rousset, Gérard Lesne...

As from the 1990s, she dedicates herself to teaching (Yerres, Orléans, Orsay); she also participates in Master-Classes (Paris, Montreal, Kyoto).[1]

In 1997, she founded her own baroque ensemble Barcarole, whose first recording released in 2005 was highly praised.

Agnès Mellon is married with the French counter-tenor Dominique Visse.

Remarkable interpretations

Agnès Mellon has given interpretations of an exceptional intensity.

She is particularly brilliant in "lamentos" and funeral airs :

In 1992, she gave an exceptional interpretation of Henry Purcell's songs, traditionally interpreted only by counter-tenors (Alfred Deller, James Bowman...)

Recordings

Agnès Mellon has made many recordings, most of them in the field of baroque music.[2][3]

With Les Arts Florissants

These recordings were all published by Harmonia Mundi France.

With La Chapelle Royale

These recordings were all published by Harmonia Mundi France.

With Ricercar Consort

These recordings were all published by Ricercar.

With Collegium Vocale Gent

These recordings were all published by Virgin Classics

With Barcarole, founded and directed by Agnès Mellon

Miscellaneous recordings

Opera roles

Agnès Mellon has played several opera roles, all of them in the field of baroque music[1][3] :

References

  1. ^ a b See biography of Agnès Mellon on her official website
  2. ^ See discography of Agnès Mellon on her official website
  3. ^ a b See catalogues of Harmonia Mundi France, Ricercar, Virgin Classics, Astrée, Erato...

External links