Christophe Dumaux (born 1979) is a French classical

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

Life and career

Christophe Dumaux initially studied

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

and

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

at his local conservatory in

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons ...

and in 2000 entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. In July 2002 at the age of 21, he made his professional debut singing the role of Eustazio in

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's '' Rinaldo'' at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier. Since then he has sung as a soloist with several prominent

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

ensembles, including William Christie's Le Jardin des Voix and Les Arts Florissants, Emmanuelle Haïm's Le Concert d’Astrée, and Il Combattimento Consort di Amsterdam. He made his American debut in 2003 at the

Spoleto Festival The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conc ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

singing the title role in Handel's ''

Tamerlano ''Tamerlano'' (Tamerlane, HWV 18) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostino Piovene's ''Tamerlano'' together with another libretto entitled ''Bajazet'' a ...

''. Several other major

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

debuts soon followed, including: the

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

as Giuliano in Cavalli's '' Eliogabalo'' (2004);

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...

as Ottone in Handel's Agrippina (2004); the

Opéra national de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

as Ottone in Monteverdi's ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

'' (2005);

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

as Tolomeo in Handel's ''

Giulio Cesare ''Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' (; ; HWV 17), commonly known as , is a dramma per musica (''opera seria'') in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym ...

'' (2005); and the New York

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

first as Unulfo in Handel's '' Rodelinda'' (2006). and a critically acclaimed Tolomeo in Handel's ''

'' (2013).

Anthony Tommasini Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief c ...

In Jodhpurs, Hailing Caesar With Seduction Giulio Cesare, With Natalie Dessay, at the Met
''The New York Times'', 5 April 2013

Selected Recordings

*Handel: ''Rinaldo'' (Vivica Genaux, Christophe Dumaux, Miah Persson, James Rutherford, Inga Kalna, Lawrence Zazzo, Dominique Visse; Conductor:

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his musi ...

; Orchestra/Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra) CD 2003. Label:

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

. *Handel: ''Giulio Cesare'' (Sarah Connolly, Christopher Maltman, Patricia Bardon, Christophe Dumaux, Angelika Kirchschlager, Danielle De Niese, Rachid Ben Abdeslam; Conductor: William Christie; Orchestra/Ensemble:

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and ...

, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus), DVD 2006. Label:

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

/Opus Arte. *Cavalli: '' Il Giasone'' (Christophe Dumaux, Katarina Bradić, Robin Johannsen; Conductor: Federico Maria Sardelli; Director Mariame Clément; Orchestra/Ensemble

Vlaamse Opera Opera Ballet Vlaanderen ( Dutch; "Opera Ballet Flanders") is an opera and ballet company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe. It operates in two different opera houses in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Antwerp. However, the company shares one ...

), DVD 2010. Label: Dynamic. *Handel: ''Partenope'' Christophe Dumaux,

Andreas Scholl Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music. Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbube ...

, Inger Dam Jensen, Tuva Semmingsen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen

References

External links

Biography
on

IMG Artists IMG Artists is a performing arts management company. The company manages the careers of classical and contemporary artists, dance companies, film with orchestra presentations and shows and attractions as well as produce and manage tours and events ...

Cara sposa ( Rinaldo ) Christophe Dumaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumaux, Christophe 21st-century French male opera singers Operatic countertenors 1979 births Living people