Sandrine Piau

Born near Paris, the French soprano Sandrine Piau initially studied harp before turning to vocal studies at the Paris Conservatoire Supérieur National de Musique. Her encounter with William Christie prompted her to devote herself intensively to Baroque music, which remains a focus of her repertoire. Along with Christie, in this area she has worked with such conductors as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Ton Koopman, Gustav Leonhardt, Marc Minkowski, and Christophe Rousset. Piau has additionally made her name as a Mozart singer and an interpreter of selected operatic roles up into the 20^th century. She has performed Mozart’s Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Sophie in Massenet’s Werther at the Châtelet, and Debussy’s Mélisande at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. In the summer of 2016 she appeared as Despina in a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and in November she will perform in Rameau’s Zoroastre at the Theater an der Wien. Among her credits are concerts with such orchestras as the Berlin and Munich Philharmonics, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris. Sandrine Piau is also dedicated to cultivating both the French and German art song repertoire, with Jos van Immerseel, Corine Durous, Roger Vignoles, and Susan Manoff among her musical partners. Her recordings have garnered such distinctions as the Prix Charles Cros (Mozart arias CD), the Prix Ravel aux Orphées (Debussy songs), and the Cannes Classical Award at MIDEM 2010 (Handel duets). Sandrine Piau is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and was named Opera Singer of the Year in the Victoires de la Musique Awards for 2009.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL debut on 16 April 1992 in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe.

August 2016