Orchestre National Avignon-Provence & Samuel Jean
Biographie Orchestre National Avignon-Provence & Samuel Jean
Véronique Gens
A prominent Baroque performer in recent years, soprano Véronique Gens has also become recognized as one of the word’s finest Mozart singers.
She performed Don Giovanni in Barcelona, Madrid, Glyndebourne, Munich and Vienna, Clemenza di Tito in Dresden and Barcelona, Cosí fan tutte in Tokyo and Baden-Baden, Cavalli’s La Calisto in Munich, Paris and London, Pelléas et Mélisande at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gluck’s Alceste in Aix- en-Provence, La finta giardiniera at the Salzburg Festival, Martin y Soler’s Il burbero di buon cuore at the Teatro Real Madrid, Rameau’s Castor et Pollux at the De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Iphigénie en Aulide at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and in Amsterdam, Iphigénie en Tauride at the Theater an der Wien, Niobe in London and Luxemburg, La veuve joyeuse in Lyon (available on DVD), Alice in Falstaff at the Baden-Baden Festival and in Nantes, Eva in a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Liceu in Barcelona and others.
Her future projects include Don Giovanni in Vienna, London and Paris, Cosí fan tutte in Baden-Baden, Iphigénie en Aulide in Amsterdam, Il burbero di buon cuore in Barcelona, Alceste and Cosí fan tutte in Vienna, Falstaff in Munich, La clemenza di Tito in Brussels and Vienna, Dialogues des carmélites at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Der Freischütz at Staatsoper Berlin, Iphigénie en Tauride at the Theater an der Wien and numerous concerts and recitals.
In 2006, Véronique Gens was nominated “Chevalier” by “L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” and she has just been appointed “Chevalier” by the renowned “Légion d’honneur” in January 2011.
Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire
In September 1971, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Pays de la Loire gave its first concerts in Nantes and Angers under the baton of Pierre Dervaux. Created on the initiative of Marcel Landowski, music director at the Ministry for the Arts, this orchestra was founded when the Nantes Opera Orchestra and the Popular Concerts Society Orchestra of Angers were combined to form a single ensemble. Since its foundation, the orchestra has thus been based in two cities, with half of its one hundred musicians in Angers and half in Nantes. Pierre Dervaux became the first music director and immediately gave it a “French colour”. Marc Soustrot, who succeeded him from 1976 to 1994, continued this orientation. The Dutch conductor Hubert Soudant, music director from 1994 to 2004, took the orchestra in new directions, stressing Viennese repertoire and increasing its audience. The orchestra became “national” in 1996. The Brazilian conductor Isaac Karabtchevsky became the fourth music director in 2004, also founding an amateur chorus and emphasising late 19th- and early 20th-century 11 repertoire.
The American conductor John Axelrod was appointed music director of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire in April 2009. His tenure has been characterised by the philosophy “open to the world”.
Today, with more than 10,000 subscribers and 200 concerts attracting nearly 200,000 listeners every year, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire has one of the largest audiences among European orchestras. It receives financial support from the Pays de la Loire’s Regional Council, the Ministry for the Arts, the town councils of Nantes and Angers and departments of the Pays de la Loire region (Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Vendée).
Olivia Doray
studied at the Royal College of Music in London, at the CNIPAL in Marseille (postgraduate opera training centre) and at the Atelier Lyrique of the Paris National Opera.
In this frame, she took part in Mirandolina by Martinu (title-role), Street Scene by Kurt Weill (Rose Maurrant), Les Troqueurs by Dauvergne (Margot) and Orphée et Eurydice by Glück (L’Amour). With the Paris Opera, on the Bastille stage, she sang in Don Carlo (La Voce dal Cielo), Werther alongside Jonas Kaufmann (Kätchen), Suor Angelica (Suor Dolcina) as well as in the new productions of Manon (Poussette) and Carmen (Frasquita).
She sang Pamina from Die Zauberflöte (Rouen, in a touring production in France and in a concert version at the Paris Philharmonie), Mademoiselle Silberklang from Der Schauspieldirektor and Bastienne from Bastien und Bastienne (Toulon, Aix-en-Provence) and Sandrina from La Finta Giardiniera (Rouen).
She was heard as Frasquita from Carmen (Teatro Real in Madrid), Musetta from La Bohème (Avignon, Rouen and on tour in France), Eurydice / L’Amour from Orphée et Eurydice (Berlioz Festival in La-Côte-Saint-André, Avignon, Bordeaux), Marzelline from Fidelio (Rouen, Rennes, Angers, Nantes), Anna from La Nonne Sanglante by Gounod (Opéra Comique in Paris), Walther from La Wally (Monte-Carlo), Carolina from Il Matrimonio Segreto (Sédières), Zénobie from Ciboulette (Saint-Etienne, Opéra Comique), Charmion from Cléopâtre (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées), Poussette from Manon (Opéra Comique, Bordeaux), Clorinda from La Cenerentola (Massy), Suzanne in Ganne’s operetta Les Saltimbanques (Rennes), Pauline from La Vie Parisienne (Saint-Etienne), Guadalena and Manuelita from La Périchole (Salzburg, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Versailles).
She regularly sings concerts: Bach’s Mass in B minor, Mozart’s Requiem, C-Mass, Solemn Vespers and concert arias, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung) in Avignon, Saint-Etienne, Rouen, Paris (Opéra Comique), Marseille, Toulon, Cannes… She gave recitals in Clermont-Ferrand, Compiègne, Moscow, Venezia (Palazzetto Bru-Zane) and at the Chaise-Dieu Festival.
Her engagements for season 2020-2021 include the title-role of Die Lustige Witwe (Saint-Etienne), Frasquita from Carmen (Bordeaux). In the concert field, she will sing Mélantho from Pénélope by Fauré (Toulouse), Naïade and Iphise from Les Fêtes d'Hébé by Rameau (Budapest and Amsterdam). She will sing a selection of Motets by Mondonville (Budapest) and a program about the 'Prix de Rome' cantatas (Venezia).
Samuel Jean
Since his appointment as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Régional Avignon-Provence in January 2013, Samuel Jean has actively contributed to the revival and reemergence of this established orchestra both in the eyes of the general public but also specialists.
With his orchestra, he has conducted the world premiere of Peter Pan by Olivier Penard, the recording was released in November 2012; Bizet’s Docteur Miracle released in 2013 (awarded with Choc Classica, Clef Resmusica, 4 Diapasons); L'Amour Masqué by Messager, released in January 2014 under the label Actes Sud; Belle Epoque with the harpist Emmanuel Ceysson (Naïve 2015) ; and more recently, SADMP by Louis Beydts and the world premiere of Homériades by Martin Romberg with the actor Robin Renucci forthcoming in 2016.
After a rich experience of chorus master and assistant in houses such the Opéra National de Paris, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Festival d’Art lyrique d’Aix-en- Provence or the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Samuel Jean decided to devote himself to orchestra conducting in 2006. Winner of the young conductors' contest of the Orchestre National d’Ile-de France in 2006, he has collaborated with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Orchestre National d'Ilede-France, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre of the Rouen opera house, Orchestre de Cannes PACA, La Verdi di Milano Orchestra, Orchestre Lamoureux, Orchestre Pasdeloup, among others.
On lyric stages, Samuel Jean is a regular guest of the Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie where he conducted Cendrillon, Rigoletto and Béatrice et Bénédict. He also conducted at the Théâtre du Châtelet (On the town), at the Opéra Comique (La Périchole, La Veuve Joyeuse), at the Opéra National de Bordeaux and the Opéra de Marseille (Orphée aux Enfers) but also at the Opéra de Rouen, Saint-Etienne, Toulon and Dijon.
At the opera and in concerts, he collaborates with stage directors and artists such as Laurent Pelly, Olivier Py, Jérôme Savary, Emilio Sagi, Nicholas Angelich, Bertrand Chamayou, Emmanuel Ceysson, Nora Gubish, Elina Garanca, to name a few. Beside his recording activity with the Orchestre Régional AvignonProvence, Samuel Jean recorded a critically acclaimed recording dedicated to Massenet's Melodies with soprano Sabine Revault d’Allones (5 Diapasons, 4 stars from Classica Magazine, «ffff» from Télérama Magazine) and another one dedicated to Pierné’s Melodies with baritone Thomas Dolié (4 stars from Classica, 4 Diapasons). He was awarded with the Orphée d'Or for best musical accompanist and for best record initiative by the Lyrical record academy for these recordings.
He recorded also, with the Orchestre National de Lille, the first album of soprano Julie Fuchs, « Yes » for Deutsche Grammophon, acclaimed by the press (Diapason d’or of the year, Choc Classica, nominated in the category of the "Best recording of the year" at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2016).
Samuel Jean's contract as principal guest conductor of the Orchestre Régional Avignon-Provence was extended for the next three seasons. His forthcoming engagements include concerts with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, the Orchestre de Picardie, the Orchestre Pasdeoup at the Philharmonie de Paris, but also performances of Anna Bolena and Dialogues des Carmélites at the Opéra d’Avignon and Aïda at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie.
Born in 1973, Samuel Jean studied the piano and musical accompaniment at the CRR of Boulogne-Billancourt, where he was accompanist during 10 years,choir direction then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris where he graduated in 2002. He is professor of the vocal ensemble class of the Conservatory between 2005 and 2013.
