GÉRALDINE CHAUVET – mezzo soprano
Géraldine Chauvet was born in Bayeux in the Calvados region of France and studied musicology at the University of Tours and vocal studies with the Jeunes Voix du Rhin which is the young artists’ development program at the National Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg.
Ms Chauvet continued her studies with Udo Reinemann and then with Grace Bumbry making her debut in 2008 as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma at the Comunale Theater of Bologna and in Germany at the Wildbad Opera Festival in Pacini’s adaptation of Don Giovanni singing the role of Donna Anna. In 2009 she sang the role of Carmen for the first time at the Comunale Pavarotti in Modena and at the Alighieri Theater in Ravenna and she was Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther opposite Giuseppe Filianoti in the same season in the tenor’s home town of Reggio Calabria under the baton of Alain Guingal.
In July 2009, Ms Chauvet was Donna Elvira this time in Mozart’s Don Giovanni a the Avenches Festival in the staging of Giancarlo del Monaco and debuted in the Zeffirelli production of Carmen at Verona under the baton of Placido Domingo, who later invited her to appear with him in Tokyo under the auspices of the Arena di Verona singing the last act of Carmen televised by NHK.
Subsequent appearances have been in Naples in 2010 at the San Carlo as Carmen, Dalila opposite Jose Cura for the Seoul Opera Festival in 2011, Carmen at the Festival de Sanxay (Vienne, France), and Mere Marie in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites in Massy, Juliette in Berlioz Romeo et Juliette in Amsterdam a US debut with Opera Orchestra of New York as Adriano in Wagner’s Rienzi conducted by Eve Queler. In the spring of 2012 she was well reviewed for her Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. Ms Chauvet opened the Verona Arena’s season in a Zeffirelli production of Don Giovanni and was Adalgisa in Norma at the Greek Theater in Taormina before she joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for a highly successful debut as Sesto in Mozart’s Clemenza di Tito in December 2012.
Other highlight performances included Dialogues of the Carmelites at the Bordeaux Festival, Kostelnichka in Jenufa in Avignon and Rosina in Barbiere di Siviglia in Beijing. She sang the Verdi Requiem with the Washington Choral Society at Kennedy Cente,r Adriano at the Theatre du Capitole at Tolouse, Sara in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux opposite Mariella Devia at Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York, Salzburg Festival in Dalbavie’s Charlotte Salomon, Carmen opening the season at New Orleans and Carmen at the Washington National Opera.
Most recently she was Nicklause in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the MET in 2017 and Carmen in the new production of Hugo de Ana at the Arena di Verona in 2018 and this season sees her as Fenena in Nabucco the Hamburg Staasoper, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Insbruck Landestheater and Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Lausanne. 2019 she is Carmen at the Arena di Verona conducted by Daniel Oren and special artist at the Arena’s Placido Domingo 50 Anniversary Gala and Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Lausanne Opera.