Soprano
Gaëlle Mechaly studied music at the CNR in Marseille where she won four gold medals for her piano performance (Pierre Barbizet class), for her part in chamber music andfor her skills at singing including singing for the opera. She has won several international contests as prestigious as the Henry Sauguet award ‘Prix de la Sacem et de la Mélodie française du Xxème siècle’, ‘Prix Yves-Saint-Laurent’. She has performed on the greatest stages in France (Palais Garnier, théâtre du Châtelet, théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, the opera of Marseille, Metz, Nice, or Rennes…) and abroad (Italy, USA, Japan, Australia…). Her musical career, rich and eclectic, extends from baroque to opéra comique, from musicals to contemporary music. Critics praised her for her vocal virtuosity, the clearness of her timber, her performances and her stage presence. She has successively appeared under the direction of Ricardo Muti (Scala of Milan), Bernard Soustrot (Fenice of Venice), Yoram David (Palermo), Emmanuelle Haïm. Faithful to William Christie and Hervé Niquet, Gaëlle Mechaly has sang in important baroque music festivals (Ambronay, Beaune, Versailles, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Cologne) and in the Aix-en-Provence festival. She recorded Zoroastre which was nominated for the 46th USA Grammy Awards in 2004. She has been regularely working with contemporary composers such as Kaija Saariaho (The tempesta) and Thierry Pecou (L’Amour coupable) and with film music composers such as Gabriel Yared, Patrick Doyle, Bruno Coulais and Nicolas Piovani.
This season, she was particularly successful in the role of The Child in Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges at the Paris National Opera. Her projects include the creation of the Slam-opera by Alexandros Markeas and Eli Commins 80 millions de vues [Eighty Million Views] within the Marseilles 2013 European Capital of Culture venue. The production will then tour all over France. She will also sing the title rôle of The Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janacek, staged by Stephan Grögler, with the cooperation of sculptor Arne Quinze. Her latest CD will shortly be on the market, a recital of French melodies, recorded under the exceptional supervision of the renowned French soprano Natalie Dessay.
Press reviews
Il Ritorno Di Ulisse In Patria, C. Monteverdi
(Festival International d’Art Lyrique, Aix-en-Provence)
How delightful to hear Gaëlle Mechaly again. Her vocal power, musical precision and stage presence are extraordinary.
After being an amazing Amour, Gaëlle Mechaly is a spectacular Minerve.
Gaëlle Mechaly literally metamorphoses into Minerve, offering a number worthy of Nathalie Dessay.
Zoroastre, J.Ph. Rameau
(European and American tour: London (The Proms), Zurich, Tonhalle… BAM of New-Yorck with Les Arts Florissants, directed by W. Christie)
Gaelle Méchaly was the pure-toned, agile heroine.
Like a nightingale, trilling or triumphing, Gaëlle Mechaly has an extraordinary presence.
Soprano Gaelle Méchaly as his lover Amélite stole the show. She has a radiant, thrilling voice and instinctive, not to say athletic, command of ornementation.
The soprano of Gaelle Mechaly (Amelite), with its lovely straightened tone became a mirror to the wooden-flute sonorities from the orchestra.
L’Anima del Filosofo (Orpheo), J.Haydn
(Opéra de Lausanne)
But the real triumph of the evening was Gaëlle Mechaly’s performance. In the role of Genio, she showed an incredible and exuberant stage presence. Her fresh, confident voice immediately received a warm public applause. We hope this artist will soon be back on our Italian stages.