Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
La lumière d’Arleen Augér, les facilités de Lynne Dawson et l’opulence de Renée Fleming s’accordent en un savant dosage dans le chant époustouflant de Karina Gauvin, soprano québécoise encore trop rare de ce côté de l’Atlantique. En compagnie des Boréades de Montréal, elle s’orne des plus beaux joyaux du bel canto londonien. - Mehdi Mahdavin ResMusica
Timbre pulpeux et clair, trille miraculeux, attaques franches mais toujours sensuelles, ornementation inventive mais jamais pléonastique, ce sont les plus rares vertus de la Cuzzoni, consignées par Charles Burney d’après le témoignage du flûtiste et théoricien Johann Joachim Quantz, que ressuscite la soprano québécoise. Et de ce chant nourri du legato le plus pur naît l’expression la plus juste et la plus intense, des plus infimes variations du vibrato à ces couleurs si savamment dosées qui, au-delà de l’art, sont les signes les plus subtils de la mise à nu de l’âme. - Resmusica
...the Purcellian miniature was a dazzling reflection of passion: it was adorned with brilliant flashes of kaleidoscopic colors, and with the delicate dew of heavenly delights.
The coloratura was crisp, fresh, radiant, and sensual with reserves of both color and of fullness - a mix of the airy and of the earthy... - AltaMusica
"What impressed me most about Gauvin's performance, however - aside from her glossy, creamy tone - is its rhythmic assurance... the result is ravishing." - Gramophone
"...an artist at the absolute peak of her form.
The listening instructions are as follows: Make a cup of hot cocoa, choose your most comfortable chair, dim the lights, close your eyes and allow the voice of Ms. Gauvin to transport you there; repeat." - the WholeNote
Discography
Henry Purcell: Ayres from Dido and Aeneas, King Arthur, The Faity Queen, etc.
(with Les Boréades)
ATMA ACD2 2398
Hyver (with Les Boréades) ATMA ACD2 2352
Bach-Pergolese Stabat Mater (with Daniel Taylor and Les Violons du Roy/Labadie) ATMA SACD2 2342
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Karina Gauvin's vast repertoire covers music from Johann Sebastian Bach to Benjamin Britten and Luciano Berio. She has sung with many major orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and the Toronto Symphony.On the operatic or concert stage,she has delivered outstanding performances with conductors as diverse as Charles Dutoit, Christopher Hogwood, Helmuth Rilling, Bruno Weil, Markus Creed, Bernard Labadie, Andrew Parrott, and Christophe Rousset. Active as a recitalist, she has collaborated with several chamber music ensembles and with pianists Marc-André Hamelin, Michael McMahon, and Roger Vignoles.
Ms Gauvin s outstanding performances have been recognized in prestigious competitions worldwide. They include the Lieder Prize and the Audience Prize at the s-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition and First Prize at the CBC Radio National Competition. Her awards include the Virginia-Parker Prize and the Maggie Teyte Memorial Prize in London. In 1996 Karina Gauvin was chosen Soloist of the Year by the International French Public Radio Community and in 2000 she was given an Opus Award as Performer of the Year. A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal,Karina Gauvin studied with Ms Marie Daveluy.
In February 2004,Atma released a recording of Mahler s 4th Symphony featuring Karina
Gauvin and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The album was awarded two Opus Prizes,
including Recording of the Year.
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