Philippe Jaroussky

Philippe Jaroussky (born 13 February 1978) is a French countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory, and then took up the piano before turning to singing.

Unusually for a countertenor, Jaroussky performs entirely in falsetto register. He has said that his natural singing voice is in the baritone range.

Early career

Jaroussky was born in Maisons-Laffitte. His great-grandfather was a Russian émigré who fled from the Bolshevik Revolution.Jaroussky was inspired to sing by the Martinique-born countertenor Fabrice di Falco. He received his diploma from the Early Music Faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris. Since 1996, he has studied singing with Nicole Fallien. He cofounded the ensemble Artaserse in 2002, and has also often performed with the Ensemble Matheus under Jean-Christophe Spinosi and with L'Arpeggiata under Christina Pluhar.

On 29 July 2016 he performed David Bowie's "Always Crashing in the Same Car" in the David Bowie Prom, a tribute to the late singer as part of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London.In September 2017, as a part of the opening of La Seine Musicale, Jaroussky launched his education program, Académie musicale Philippe Jaroussky.

Reception and awards

According to La Terrasse, "this young singer with the tone of an angel and the virtuosity of the devil has come into the limelight in only a few years as the great new French vocal talent." He received the Révélation Artiste lyrique in the 2004 Victoires de la musique classique and was Artiste lyrique de l'année in the 2007 and 2010 edition. Jaroussky was awarded "The Best Singer of the Year" at the Echo Klassik Awards, 2008 and 2016. He also received an Echo Klassik Award in 2012 for the Album Duetti, which he recorded together with Max Emanuel Cenčić. In 2020, he was awarded Victoire d'honneur in the Victoires de la musique classique.Jaroussky was named Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2009 and was promoted to the rank of Officier in 2019.The asteroid 332183 Jaroussky was named after him.

On 13 November 2019, which marked the twentieth anniversary since his debut, a wax figure of him sculpted by Éric Saint-Chaffray was inaugurated at the Musée Grévin with his concert, where he also received the medal of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

In culture

Songs performed by Jaroussky were used in the film Turkish Seat (Russian: Турецкое седло, Turetskoye sedlo) by Uzbek-Russian film director Yusup Razykov, 2017.

Personal life

In a 2011 interview, Jaroussky stated: "I don’t like to discuss my personal life. I feel in classical music, you don’t have to speak about that. I have many reasons." He is openly gay and has been in a relationship with a "very supportive" non-musician since 2007. His boyfriend sometimes travels with him.

His statements about his sexuality include this response to a tip Berlin interviewer:

tip: Do you have a personal theory why so many countertenors are gay?

Philippe Jaroussky: I am. But that doesn’t mean that all, or even the majority of countertenors are. I only realized one thing: on stage, love scenes with a woman are a lot easier to do when your stage partner knows you’re gay. The only challenge is not getting a laughing fit. Otherwise it’s pure fun.

Discography

Charts

Operas and concert works

Solo recitals

External links

Official website (in French)

Philippe Jaroussky (Erato)

Concerts Parisiens

Performance of aria "Vedrò con mio diletto" (Vivaldi, "Il Giustino") on YouTube

Philippe Jaroussky recordings on Virgin Classics

New York Times Sunday Magazine profile