David ROUBAUD, bass
FR
ENOPERA
SINGER
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Opera, operetta Sacred music Concerts ...and custom performances |
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BIOGRAPHY
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Born in 1968 in Aix-en-Provence (south of France), at the end of the "Festival d'Art Lyrique" period, I seriously begin with music at the age of 11, learning guitar, cello, drums, and sound engineering, and giving several performances with local Rock bands. Aged 18, I begin Information Technology engineering studies in Lille (north of France), and practice intensively chamber music and symphonic orchestra with cello, jazz sextet and big band with guitar and drums. By the way, a natural bass voice is revealed in student's choirs, and at the age of 24 I begin singing studies with bass-baritone David Boitel, specialist and fan of romantic Bel Canto. He will make me discover the most beautiful pages of Haendel, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini or young Verdi, and also some French Operas from the first part of 19th century particularly influenced by Italian Bel Canto. |
An
eclectic musical experience, from Rock to Opera, through Jazz...
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 "Don Giovanni" at Tourcoing's Theater |
Art and technique... Besides a career of engineer, I will have quickly the opportunity of perform in opera recitals, and little roles in operetta productions. Then, after having joined the "Choeur Regional Nord-Pas de Calais", I regularly sung in France, Belgium and England for great Oratorios, chamber vocal music and soloist ensembles. In 1996, I won a Gold Medal of Singing after one year spent in Tourcoing Music School, where under the direction of the soprano Nelly Nuns I have studied more in detail French opera repertory, melodies and lieder.The same year, I had the opportunity to study and confirm my taste for Baroque repertory during masterclasses on Baroque vocal virtuosity given by the conductor Jean-Claude Malgoire. |
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On stage... After having performed, in parallel to my ingeneer activities, in several productions, in choirs or little roles (Don Giovanni, La Cenerentola, Werther, Die Fledermaus, La Belle Hélène, Monsieur Carnaval…) conducted by Jean-Claude Malgoire and Bruno Membrey in Tourcoing, or Jean-Claude Casadesus in Lille, I finally begun to sing main roles in 2006, such as Don Alfonso in "Cosi fan tutte" during Académie lyrique de Vendôme conducted by Amaury du Closel, or the Vilains in "Les contes d'Hoffmann" and Duparquet in Reynaldo Hahn's "Ciboulette" with the company Opéra des Garrigues, from Nîmes. |
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Engaged in 2007 in Avignon's opera troup, I sing a priest in "Die Zauberfl!ote", the second prisonner in Beethoven's "Fidelio", Bertillard in Ganne's "Les saltimbanques", Bobby le Noir and Tom in Britten's "Le petit ramoneur" (the french version of "The little sweep"), Il commissionario in "La Traviata" (Avignon and Vichy Operas), the customs sergeant in "La Bohème", and also Il Commissario Imperiale in "Madama Butterfly" (Massy Opera).
In collaboration with theater l'Astrolabe in Sorgues (Vaucluse) and its manager Gérard Thébault, I create new lyric productions. The first one was "Le voyage d'Hiver ", a stage version of Schubert's "Winterreise".
The second one was a new opera production of Pergolesi's "La servante maîtresse", 1754 French version of the famous "Serva Padrona", with Odile Lacombe (soprano, as Zerbine) and Yves Lavigne (piano, also playing the servant Scapin).
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...in concert,
I have an intense activity of concerts. Recitals with piano or orchestra and choirs,
with a large part dedicated to Rossini (La Cenerentola, Maometto Secondo, Semiramide,
Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Le Comte Ory,…), Donizetti (Don Pasquale), Bellini
(I Puritani) or Haendel (Rinaldo, Ezio, Giulio Cesare), and also to some Russian
composers I am keen on (the title-role of Borodin's "Prince Igor", for
example). Those roles have for most of them been prepared with the coloratura
soprano Sylvie De May.
Furthermore, I perform german Lied with the pianist
Sylvie Assadourian, within our duet
Wanderlust : we mainly explore Schubert's repertory including Winterreise
and Schwanengesang, and insert also a set of french melodies in our programs.
Recital themes also, with pianist Davide Di Cenzo, about drinking songs and italian regions, to illustrate an oenological presentation of several Italian wine by the company Vinopera. The program mixes French melodies such as Poulenc's chansons Gaillardes, and French and Italian opera arias : "Intendente ? Reggitor ?" from Rossini's La Cenerentola, "Udite O Rustici" from Donzetti's l'Elisir d'Amore, "O vin dissipe la tristesse" From Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet...To taste without limits for the musical part and with greediness for the other one.
Musical drunkenness (Davide Di Cenzo, piano - Photography : Jean-Marc Kuntz, jmk-photos.fr)
We have also created together at Theater Antoine Riboud in Evian Les Bains a show associating the discovery of four perfumes from 18th and 19th centuries, re-created by perfumes specialist André Chauvière, and the music of this period. You will find hereunder a trailer of this show, which was awarded by "International Year of Cheimistry 2011" organization
Perfumes and music from 18th and 19th centuries trailer
...In Oratorio,
I have also obtained several enrolments in Oratorios : Fauré's "Requiem", Puccini's "Messa di Gloria" with Multiphonies choir and orchestra conducted by Danièle Facon, Mendelssohn's "Elias" conducted by Michel Lasserre de Rozel, "Funeral Cantatas" of Bach and Telemann, and also Caldara's mass in G during "Semaines Chorales de Tourcoing", Haydn's "Neslon mass" in Tourcoing Theater, Bach's Cantata 82 "Ich habe genug" in Lagnes (Vaucluse), Mozart's Grabmusik KV42, Haydn's Paukenmesse (missa in tempore belli) and Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion, conducted by Michel Piquemal in Avignon, or Mondonville's motet "In Exitu Israel" and Haendel's "Dixit Dominus" with the vocal ensemble Opus 13 from Aix-en-Provence and the Orchestre de Chambre de Toulon et du Var.
Mondonville's motet "In Exitu Israel" in Aix-en-Provence
In june 2007, I also had the pleasure to perform once again Puccini's "Messa di Gloria" on a wide open air stage, during the festival Biennale Musicale du Bassin d'Arcachon.
Puccini's Messa di Gloria
Since august 2007, I am regularly invited for the "Jeudis de Nîmes"
and associated concerts, where I had the opportunity to sing once more Mozart's
Grabmusik KV42 in Saint-Paul's Church in March 2008, with several excerpts
from Haydn's "The Creation".
Also in Nîmes, I have sung with La Croche Choeur choir and orchestra for
Bach's BWV 4 cantata and Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion.
Last but not least, one of the most exciting oratiorio in Vaison la Romaine and Nyons : Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Choeur Europeen of Vaison la Romaine, and Orchestre des Cevennes, conducted by Claude Poletti
Rossini's Stabat Mater, in Vaison la Romaine
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Artistic curiosity, cultural open minding... In French Savoy I also organise several pedagogical concerts on the shores of Lake Geneva, with international artists. With the association "Art Lyrique en Chablais", I have set up a cycle of conference-concerts with the collaboration of artists such as pianists François Killian and Jean-Marie Reboul, or the musicologist Sylvie Brunet-Fontaine. Since 2005, I have also created a class of singing (I now live in Chabons, Isère, between Grenoble and Lyon), after having studied deeply vocal pedagogy at the Rhône-Alpes Voice Center. I regularly organize training sessions, for exemple during Académie d'été de Messery (french Savoy). Besides my native French language, I speak a current and professional English, have a good knowledge of Italian, and basis of Russian and German. |
 "Non più andrai..." Concert-Conference at Sciez Theater |