Seven soloists join Paris Opéra ensemble
OperaA key point in Alexander Neef’s renewal of Parisian opera is forming a hard corps of singers who can jump in to any production.
The latest to join are five academy students – soprano Ilanah Lobel-Torres, mezzo Marine Chagnon, tenor Maciej Kwasnikowski, bass Alejandro Baliñas Vieites and baritone Florent Mbia; along with the Provencal soprano Emy Gazeilles, 22, (pictured) and the Australian tenor Nicholas Jones.
Neef’s stated aim is to have 15 soloists on the books.
Why can’t Covent Garden do the same, saving itself from all-too-frequent embarrassments?
Very good idea. It’s worked in Germany for centuries.
I know you missed at least one.
Nicholas Jones is Australia
Think back to the 1970s and Covent Garden had pretty much an ensemble of excellent regular singers with the likes of Josephine Veasey, Heather Harper, the great Michael Langdon, Robert Tear and a host of others.
Covent Garden used to have a company system similar to the french opera ‘ troupe.’
In fact after WW2 Covent Garden Opera was set up that way with artists such as Constance Shacklock and a whole team of singers regularly undertaking roles. As one former company member mentioned to me , in the ‘ old’ days they could cast practically any opera from within the company if necessary.
At the Paris Opera ( then based at Palais Garnier) it was a similar situation – singers such as Albert Lance , Georges Liccioni, Suzanne Sarocca and for a time Regine Crespin formed the nucleus with visits from illustrious guest artists such as Callas , Tebaldi , Corelli , Del Monaco.
What spelt the end of these types of contract was the financial implications of maintaining a group of singers permanently on the books .
I can think of at least one european opera house where they got rid of all the permanent singers , chorus included, but kept the full adminstrative and technical teams.
From time to time various companies have decided to revive something akin to the ‘troupe’ system . Sometimes they have been set up by an artistic director , but closed by the person who then succeeds them.
There is a real need for this kind of structure where talented young singers can mature , gradually taking on roles. However some singers have been used as cheap labour in the past on contracts that do not pay a living wage.
I hope this project in Paris has been set up to last and with conditions which reflect the efforts in terms of study and finance that these young singers have already put into their careers.
The last thing any young singer needs is financial worries at the back of their mind. The career is already demanding / tough as it is.