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After shining over the baroque stage for over a decade, Véronique Gens has achieved a strong international reputation and is now considered one of the best Mozart singers. One of her most prominent roles, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni staged by Peter Brook and conducted by Claudio Abbado at the Aix-en-Provence Festival earned her worldwide recognition.
In 1999, she was chosen Lyrical Performer of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique.
Her repertoire includes the greatest Mozart parts (Donna Elvira, Contessa Almaviva, Vitellia, Fiordiligi…), famous roles from lyrical tragedies (Iphigénie en Tauride, Iphigénie en Aulide, Alceste…) as well as later ones such as Alice Ford (Falstaff), Eva (Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites), Hélène (La Belle Hélène), Missia Palmeri (Die Lustige Witwe).
In addition to her wide-ranging classical repertoire, Véronique Gens gives numerous concerts and French melodies recitals all over the world, notably in Paris, Amsterdam, Dresden, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, London, Tanglewood, Beijing, Stockholm, Moscow, Geneva or Edimburgh.
She has performed on the most prestigious stages in the world: Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Paris National Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, La Monnaie in Brussels, Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, La Scala in Milan, the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as well as at the Festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg and Glyndebourne.
Véronique Gens thus had the opportunity to sing under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Alain Altinoglu, Bertrand de Billy, Ivor Bolton, Jonathan Cohen, William Christie, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Daniel Harding, Thomas Hengelbrock, Marek Janowski, Philippe Jordan, Louis Langrée, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Sir Neville Marriner, Marc Minkowski, Jérémie Rhorer, Christophe Rousset, Daniele Rustioni, Michel Plasson… and to collaborate with renowned stage directors like Pierre Audi, Calixto Bieito, Peter Brook, Willy Decker, Jurgen Flimm, Claus Guth, Michael Haneke, Christof Loy, Olivier Py, Graham Vick, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Dmitri Tcherniakov…
More recently, she sang in Alceste at the Wiener Staatsoper, La Belle Hélène at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Don Giovanni in Amsterdam, at the Wiener Staatsoper, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and at the Liceu in Barcelona, La Clemenza di Tito in Dresden and at the Wiener Staatsoper, Falstaff at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Les Indes Galantes in Budapest, Alceste, Iphigénie en Tauride, Die lustige Witwe, Les Troyens and Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Giulietta) at the Paris National Opera, Dialogues des Carmélites in Paris, Caen and at La Monnaie in Brussels, Faust in an original concert version of 1859 revisited by Christophe Rousset, La Fille de Madame Angot and Maître Péronilla (Leona) by Offenbach at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, La Calisto at la Scala… In concert, she sang melodies by Henri Duparc with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Le Poème de l’Amour et de la Mer by Ernest Chausson with the Orchestre National de Lille and with the Mitteldeutscher Sinfonieorchester, the Orchestre national de Lyon and the Orchestre de Cannes. Les Nuits d’été with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra,the Orchestre national des Pays de Loire and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, La Voix humaine by Francis Poulenc at the Atelier Lyrique in Tourcoing, Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel under the baton of Daniele Rustioni in Lyon, at the Festival Estoril in Lisbon, in Oslo with Vassily Petrenko and Berlin with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Wesendonck Lieder with the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, La Nonne sanglante by Berlioz at the Festival de la Côte-Saint-André, La Mort de Cléopâtre with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and the Orchestre national de Metz, melodies by Berlioz with the Orchestre de Picardie, Armide in Brussels, Metz and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Mahler Rückert-Lieder in Nancy and Brussels, Shéhérazade at the Musikverein in Vienna, Saint-Saëns Requiem with the Orchestre National de France, Circé by Desmarets Ariane et Bacchus by Marin Marais with Concert Spirituel, Scylla et Glaucus (Circé) by Leclair in Budapest and Rivales with the Concert de la loge in Metz, Massy and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Zoroastre (Erinice) on tour with Les Ambassadeurs and Hulda by César Franck with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.
Her noteworthy projects in the upcoming seasons Armide by Gluck at the Opéra Comique, Dialogues des Carmélites (Madame Lidoine) in Munich, La Fille de Madame Angot at the Opéra Comique and Iphigénie en Aulide at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence… In concert, she will sing Iphigénie en Tauride (Clytemnestre) by Campra with the Concert Spirituel, Castor et Pollux (Phébée) and Werther (Charlotte) in Budapest, Les Nuits d’été with the Orquesta Sinfónica by Galicia, Faust et Hélène by Lili Boulanger at the Edinburgh Festival as well as La Mort de Cléopâtre at the Cologne Philharmonic with Les Siècles, La Voix humaine with the National Orchestra de Lille, the title role of Médée by Charpentier with the Spiritual Concert. We will also hear her in recital with piano and with the ensemble Les Surprises or with I Giardini in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Reims, London…
Very involved in the work lead by the Palazzetto Bru Zane Foundation – French Romantic Music Center, Véronique Gens participated to a lot of recordings belonging to the collection “Opéra français” as Herculanum by David, Cinq-Mars by Gounod, La Jacquerie by Lalo and Coquard, Proserpine by Saint-Saëns, Dante by Godard, La Reine de Chypre by Halévy and Faust by Gounod, Passionnément by Messager, Ô mon bel inconnu by Hahn, Maître Péronilla by Offenbach, La Fille de Madame Angot by Charles Lecocq…
Her many recordings (over 80 CDs and DVDs) have received several international awards. Néère, her recording devoted to French melodies, has won a Gramophone Award in 2016. Visions received an International Classic Music Awards as well as an International Opera Awards in 2018.
Véronique Gens has been promoted to the rank of Chevalier in the French order of Légion d’Honneur as well as Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.
Praised by the Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses an effortless grace, brilliant virtuosity and poised authority far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation and performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors such as Gergiev, Dudamel, Honeck, Petrenko, Tilson Thomas and Long Yu.
Recent and upcoming concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Sydney Symphony and St Petersburg Philharmonic. In 2018/19, Li makes his debut with the London Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Tokyo Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, embarks on a 11-city recital tour of China and is the soloist on the Russian National Orchestra’s major US tour with Mikhail Pletnev. He frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Graffenegg Festival and in various venues throughout Russia.
In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Ravinia Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival, and Montreux Festival.
An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside James Ehnes, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Benjamin Beilman, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez and Daniel Lozakovich and future plans include collaborations with Daniel Hope, Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Lawrence Power. Li is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, with his debut recital album released in October 2017 which was recorded live from the Mariinsky.
Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinway Hall at the age of ten and in 2011, performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among Li’s many prizes, he was the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In summer 2018, Li graduated from the Harvard University / New England Conservatory joint program, where he studied with Wha Kyung Byun.
French pianist Jonathan Fournel is the winner of the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition. He also won the two Audience Awards (Musiq3 Prize and Canvas-Klara Prize).
He plays regularly with artists such as G. Capuçon, A. Dumay, V. Julien-Laferrière, as well as the Hermès and Modigliani Quartets. He has also performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras in Europe and Asia – the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre national de Lorraine, the Croatian Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Belgium National Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, – under the direction of S. Denève, G. Madaras, A. Dumay, J. Heyward, P. Oundjian, and many others.
Jonathan Fournel studied at the Musikhochschule in Saarbrücken, then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he obtained his Master’s and subsequently the Artist Diploma in the classes of B. Engerer and M. Dalberto. Since 2016, he has been an artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium under the direction of L. Lortie and A. Kouyoumdjian.
His next CD, to be released in 2022, will be devoted to Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel and Sonata No.3.
Born into a family of musicians, Tsotne Zedginidze is a descendant of Niko Sulkhanishvili, considered one of the greatest Georgian composers of all time, and a renowned pedagogue, Anastasia Abdushelishvili-Virsaladze (whose students included Lev Vlassenko, Eliso Virsaladze, and Dimitry Bashkirov).
From a very young age, Tsotne showed a keen interest in opera, ballet, and instrumental and vocal music. At two years old, he could recognize and name different instruments. He began learning the piano at the age of five under his grandmother, Nino Mamradze, herself a pianist and teacher. His progress was remarkable; at only six years old, he performed elementary piano repertoire and started studying sonatas by Clementi, Scarlatti, Mozart, and Beethoven, as well as Bach’s Inventions for two and three voices, and pieces by Grieg, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, and Prokofiev. His extraordinary sight-reading abilities allowed him to accurately interpret many of these works on the first read. It was during this time that he developed a growing interest in opera, devouring Italian opera as well as works by Wagner and Strauss.
At six years old, Tsotne Zedginidze began composing and discovered 20th and 21st-century music. He continued his study of opera by playing voice scores of various operas on the piano, including Berg’s Lulu, Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. As a self-taught composer, he developed and personalized his style by experimenting and seeking new composition techniques. He always maintained a great interest in opera, eagerly watching productions from major opera houses worldwide.
Tsotne Zedginidze gave his first recital in Tbilisi in June 2019, where he performed works by Berg (Sonata, Op. 1), Bach, Shostakovich, and Janáček, along with a selection of his own compositions. A few months later, he performed at the Telavi International Music Festival organized by Eliso Virsaladze and participated in the opening of the season of the Georgian National Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and his own works under the direction of Nikoloz Rachveli. This concert was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In December 2019, with the support of the Paata Burchuladze’s Iavnana Foundation, Tsotne gave a solo recital at the Grand Hall of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire.
In June 2020, Tsotne premiered his piece “The Bells” for piano, composed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, dedicated to the memory of his mother, Irene Sulkhanishvili.
In September 2021, Tsotne premiered his Sonata for Violin and Piano alongside Lisa Batiashvili and a piano duo with Sandro Nebieridze at the Tsinandali Festival. He participated in the ArtDialog international festival in Switzerland, performed at the Rachmaninov Museum in Villa Senar (also in Switzerland), and took part in masterclasses with Boris Berezovsky. In November 2021 and June 2022, Tsotne was invited to give recitals at Schloss Elmau. His concerts were highly praised by the audience, including the renowned pianist Grigory Sokolov, who said, “Tsotne’s compositions fit into the monumental world of Bach and Brahms.”
In 2022, at the invitation of Lisa Batiashvili, Tsotne gave a solo recital at the Audi Sommerkonzerte in Ingolstadt, Germany, where he premiered his Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra alongside the Georgian Chamber Orchestra and Nikoloz Rachveli. In July 2022, the pianist made his debut at the Verbier Festival, broadcast on medici.tv. With violinist Marc Bouchkov, he presented the opening of the Verbier Festival on medici.tv. Additionally, medici.tv produced a multi-episode conversation series between Tsotne and Marc Bouchkov, titled “Meet Tsotne.”
During the 2022-2023 season, Tsotne Zedginidze performed in Paris during a concert in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Mezzo television channel at the Cirque d’Hiver. He was also invited by Lahav Shani to participate in rehearsals for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in Rotterdam. Furthermore, he performed at the Kissinger Sommerfest and participated in the concert held at the Wiener Konzerthaus by the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation. During the summer of 2023, he gave a solo recital at Schloss Elmau and a chamber music concert with the renowned violinist Marc Bouchkov. He also gave recitals at the Verbier Festival 2023 and the Tsinandali Festival 2023, both events broadcast on medici.tv.
For the 2023-2024 season, Tsotne is invited to perform in Brussels, Munich, Berlin, and at Schloss Elmau. Among other works, he will interpret Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto with the Bavarian Youth Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle.
Since 2021, Tsotne Zedginidze has received support from the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation: he participates in various foundation concerts and receives material support for his studies. In December 2020, October 2021, and May 2023, with the foundation’s assistance, Tsotne traveled to Berlin to attend masterclasses by maestro Daniel Barenboim and Jörg Widmann. Additionally, in April 2023, he went to London to perform alongside conductors Alfred Brendel and Antonio Pappano.
Tsotne continues his studies with his grandmother, Nino Mamradze. He has also received several online lessons from Rena Shereshevskaya, who teaches at the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot.
Georgian composer Giya Kancheli had these words: “Musicians as phenomenal as Tsotne are born once a century.” Pianist Eliso Virsaladze commented, “In my life, I have never met anyone as remarkable as this child.” In an interview, conductor and composer Nikoloz Rachveli quoted Daniel Barenboim himself about Tsotne: “Mozart is back in Germany, from Georgia.”
British tenor Ian Bostridge’s acclaimed career across the opera, concert and chamber domains takes him to the world’s most prominent halls and festivals. Past residencies include with the Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall New York, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam and London’s Wigmore Hall, while his 2018/19 season Artistic Residency with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra was the first of its kind for the ensemble. Operatic appearances have included Aschenbach (Death in Venice) for the Deutsche Oper and Peter Quint (The Turn of the Screw) for Teatro alla Scala. 2021/22 season highlights include European tours with Europa Galante of Monteverdi’s Orfeo and The Seasons with the Orchestra of the 18th Century, the release of his latest album on the Pentatone label, and collaborations with pianists Lars Vogt, Sir Antonio Pappano, Angela Hewitt and long-standing duo partner, Julius Drake.
Lily Maisky was born in Paris but moved to Brussels shortly afterward. She began playing the piano at the age of 4, receiving instruction from Lyl Tiempo, Hagit Kerbel, Ilana Davids, and Alan Weiss. Later, she attended the Purcell School of Music from 2001 to 2005, where she also studied jazz piano. Lily has received guidance from renowned masters and artists such as Martha Argerich, Dmitri Bashkirov, Joseph Kalichstein, Pavel Gililov, Vitali Margulis, Oleg Maisenberg, and Marielle Labèque, to name a few. In addition to her solo performances and collaborations with international orchestras, Lily is an avid chamber musician. She has formed a regular duo with her father, Mischa Maisky, for several years, and she is also a member of the Maisky Trio alongside her brother, Sascha.
One of the most lyrical and intimate voices of contemporary jazz piano, and described by The New York Times as ‘the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years’, GRAMMY Award-winning Brad Mehldau combines the essence of jazz exploration with classical romanticism and pop allure. From critical acclaim as a bandleader, to major collaborations with artists such as jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, soprano Renee Fleming and saxophonist Joshua Redman, Mehldau continues to garner admiration from jazz purists and music enthusiasts alike. His forays into melding musical idioms, in both trio settings (with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums) and solo, have seen brilliant re-workings of songs from writers including The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, Gershwin and Nick Drake; alongside a significant catalogue of original compositions.
Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński has quickly emerged as one of the most vibrant performers on the international classical music scene, triumphing on stage, in concert, and on recording. An exclusive artist on the Warner/Erato label, his first recording Anima Sacra has garnered critical accolades and earned him the prestigious Opus Klassik award for Solo Vocal Recording. His sold-out concerts and recitals throughout Europe and the United States have attracted new followers to the art form, and his live performance of Vivaldi’s “Vedrò con mio diletto”, filmed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2017, has amassed more than four million online views. Television appearances, including the “Concert de Paris” at the Eiffel Tower and “Rebâtir Notre Dame de Paris”, both with the Orchestre National de France and Les Victoires de la Musique Classique awards concert accompanied by the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon, have been broadcast to millions worldwide. Last year he was the subject of a major profile in The New Yorker and featured in Polish Vogue. His second album release – entitled Facce d’amore featuring Baroque operatic arias written for romantic male characters – was released in November 2019 and toured throughout Europe with Il Pomo d’Oro. He is also featured on Warner recordings of Agrippina opposite Joyce di Donato and on a disc of selections with L’Arpeggiata with Christina Pluhar.
Jonathan Papp (Artistic Director, GSA) is greatly in demand as a coach and accompanist, having shared recitals with Sir Thomas Allen, Cheryl Barker, Ian Bostridge, Sophie Daneman, Susan Gritton, Katarina Karneus, Christopher Maltman, Amanda Roocroft, Sergei Leiferkus, Marina Poplavskya, Moray Welsh and Catherine Wyn-Rogers, amongst others. Venues have ranged from London’s Wigmore Hall to the Sydney Opera House. He has made radio and television broadcasts here and abroad with such artists as Dame Kiri and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. He has worked as both coach and recital partner with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa for over seventeen years. He has given Masterclasses at the Royal Opera House and abroad, including Japan and New Zealand. He has been on the staff of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, for the Royal Opera House, the Walton Foundation in Ischia and for the Tosti Institute in Ortona. In 2004 he co-founded the Georg Solti Accademia in Italy, of which he is Artistic Director, working alongside an expert hand-picked faculty and inviting an impressive range of artists to give masterclasses, including Frederica von Stade, José Carreras, Richard Bonynge and Angela Gheorghiu. He trained at the RAM in London, where he won prizes for piano accompaniment, solo playing and chamber music, and was appointed the Hodgson Fellow for piano and an Associate of the Royal Academy. He undertook further postgraduate studies with Bruno Canino in Milan and Geoffrey Parsons in London. Jonathan Papp was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014. Papp is a member of the Vocal Faculty and the Opera School at the RAM.
Hamburg-born Okka von der Damerau began her vocal studies in Rostock and graduated at the University of Music in Freiburg. Her first engagements led her to the theatres of Rostock and Freiburg.
From 2006 until 2010 she was an ensemble member of the Hannover State Opera and performed in the world premiere of Edward Rushton’s DIE FROMME HELENE, in DAS RHEINGLD/ Erda, RIGOLETTO/ Maddalena and DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE/ Dritte Dame. After her debut as Erste Magd in the ELEKTRA-production of the Bavarian State Opera she has been an ensemble member since the 2010/11-season.
In the 2015/16 season she performed in three new productions: Verdi’s UN BALLO IN MASCHERA/ Ulrica (C: Zubin Mehta), DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG/ Maddalena (C: Kirill Petrenko), Prokoviev’s THE FIERY ANGEL/ Abbess (C: Vladimir Jurowski).
The 2016/17 season lead her to Chicago, where she sang the roles of Erda/ DAS RHEINGOLD and Anna/ LES TROYENS. She also gave her house debut at the Vienna State Opera with the role of Erda/ RHEINGOLD and SIEGFRIED. In June 2016 Okka von der Damerau gave her debut at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Bruck.
In 2017/18 she will, among others, perform in a new production DAS WUNDER DER HELIANE at Deutsche Oper Berlin, as Brangäne / TRISTAN UND ISOLDE in concert with Cleveland Orchestra, as well as concerts with Mahler II. Symphony under the baton of Antonio Pappano at Enescu Festival Bukarest and under Kent Nagano in Munich and Berlin, and IX. Beethoven under Daniel Barenboim in Berlinner’s TE DEUM (C: Riccardo Muti).