And the 2016 HSBC Laureates are…
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The names of the 2016 HSBC Laureates were announced at last night’s concert at the Philharmonie de Paris on November 16th.
Six young talents chosen from the most promising at the Académie du Festival d’Aix have now been named HSBC Laureates so they can delve deeper into the experience they’ve gained from the Festival d’Aix performing at recitals and concerts both in France and abroad.
HSBC France has worked with the Festival d’Aix since 2006 to support and encourage young talents. The 10-year partnership has seen the award support and promote almost 100 young artists with 11 promotions of four singers, a vocal coach pianist and a chamber music ensemble.
What better way to announce the new HSBC Laureates in prelude of a concert performed by former HSBC Laureates? The Nocturnes programme sees the tenor Rupert Charlesworth (2011 HSBC Laureate) accompanied by the pianist Edwige Herchenroder (2013 HSBC Laureate) showcase their talent in all its glory after being spotted a few years ago by the Académie du Festival d’Aix and supported by HSBC.
The baton has now been passed onto a new generation of young artists, most of whom had their first experiences at residencies organised by the Académie du Festival d’Aix and will appear in productions at the Festival d’Aix 2017. Before you see them perform this summer, let’s find out more about the 2016 HSBC Laureates’ past and future!
Young Chinese soprano Ying Fang appeared at the Festival d’Aix in 2015 with the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra and will perform the role of Bellezza in Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Handel) at the Festival d’Aix which will also be staged at the Lille Opera and Caen Theatre; the lead role was performed by Sabine Devieilhe in 2016 who was a 2012 HSBC Laureate and whose career has since thrived.
The mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre earned her stripes at Académie du Festival d’Aix residencies: Handel in 2015, overseen by Emmanuelle Haïm, and Mozart in 2015 and 2016. This summer she starred as Céphie in Zoroastre (Rameau) conducted by Raphaël Pichon. She took on the role again at the Festival Radio France Montpellier Occitanie, Theatre an der Wien and Versailles Opera. She’s returning to the Festival d’Aix as Flerida in Erismena (Cavalli) conducted by Leonardo García Alarcon in 2017.
When I started singing, there were stages of my career I dreamt of. To be HSBC Laureate is a plus!
Lea Desandre
The baritone Guillaume Andrieux made his first foray at the Festival d’Aix in 2012 as the Clock and Cat in L’Enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel) which he performed at the Salle Pleyel, Dijon Opera, Saint-Étienne Opera and on tour in Morocco. He lent his voice to Correspondance presque complète d’Erik Satie in 2016 at the Philharmonie de Paris and on tour with the Théâtre Gérard Philippe – CDN – Saint-Denis, a show first unveiled at the Festival d’Aix in 2012. Summer 2017 sees him as Le Dancaïre in Carmen (Bizet) at the Festival d’Aix.
American bass-baritone Evan Hughes took part in the Mozart residency at the Académie du Festival d’Aix in 2011. In October he performed the role of Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten) at the Beijing Music Festival in China. He will appear in The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky) conducted by Daniel Harding at the 2017 Festival d’Aix.
The pianist Florian Caroubi took part in last summer’s Melody & Creation residency at the Festival d’Aix. He plays the piano in Au plus fort de l’orage (Stravinsky), staged by Matthieu Cruciani at the Comédie de Saint-Étienne in January 2016, as part of the Festival d’Aix in 2017.
The HSBC Laureates are artists of such talent, that I will never be thankful enough to the Festival d'Aix.
Florian Caroubi
Last but not least, the Quatuor Arod – Jordan Victoria (violin), Alexandre Vu (violin), Corentin Apparailly (viola), Samy Rachid (cello) – won First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in August 2016 after taking part in the chamber music residency at the Académie du Festival d’Aix. They are returning to the Festival d’Aix in 2017 for a concert devoted to Mendelssohn before the release of their first album in autumn 2017.
