Through a chance encounter -- actually, as a result of me making friends with two delightful little boys, David and Gabriel, and inviting them up from the river's edge onto the chateau terrace to come look at my fishing rods and trout flies!, their mother, Francoise Alleysson and I are now looking for a place and an opportunity for her to come back to Lalinde to share with our community some of her many wonderful talents.
And many and wonderful her talents truly are: After studying the flute at Grenoble National Conservatory and then at Geneva National Superior Conservatory and winning a first prize, her taste for drama, she says, naturally lead her to opera. She also went on with the baroque repertoire in Arnaud Pumir’s class and studied stage direction at Schola Cantorum with Patrick Crespini. Apart from continuing her flute and piano studies, she took part in various productions and recordings with “Les musiciens du Louvre” under Marc Minkowski’s direction (Haendel’s Messiah, Charpentier’s Midnight Mass, Dardanus) and collaborated with Montreux Opera Studio in various operas: The Medium and The Telephone by G. C. Menotti, The Savage written by Dominique Lehmann, and A proposal (creation) by Richard Dubugnon.
She tours with Evasion Company, a vocal sextet who draw their inspiration from traditional songs and regularly gives recitals and oratorios, dating from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.
A few comments in the press about Francoise's work:
“A great musical success served by an exceptional duet: Françoise Alleysson, soprano, and Pierre Perdigon, organ and harpsichord.” -- Dauphiné Libéré, April 2005
“Very high quality voices, evenly registered and beautifully mixed, for Savage by Dominique Lehmann.“ -- Vevey Hebdo (Switzerland), Frédéric Vallotton
“On the stage of the Vevey theatre, under the spell of the Opera Studio”
“In The Medium, Françoise Alleysson, soprano, bewitches us through her sincerity and sings in the first act the Berceuse with her bright voice”
“In The Telephone, Françoise Alleysson, voluble, extraverted, irresistible, stands out unquestionably”-- Presse Riviera Chablais (Switzerland),
“Françoise Alleysson has a superb coloratura soprano voice.
The tone is clear and generous, the high notes come easily, and her highly musical rendering brings captivating nuances to the all the texts.” -- Dauphiné Libéré
Illuminations
One of the programmes which Francoise Alleysson offers, is called Illuminations.
In 1886, Paul Verlaine - known for the musicality of his own poetry - published a collection of poems written by his life-long friend Arthur Rimbaud, entitled Illuminations. The text of these poems have the character of a diary -- Verlaine describes them as "short pieces, exquisite prose or purposely and deliciously expressed verse. Either there is no leading idea," he continues, "or we cannot find it. There is the obviously joy of a gifted poet, of enchanted landscapes, romantic allusions and a grandiose ambition of style."
In 1940 Benjamin Britten chose to set nine of these pieces to music. True to the coloured engravings of the poet, the musical arrangements are illustrartd with sharp outlines and vivid colours. They extend the effect produced by the poet's vision, the fantastic descriptions and the disjointed adventures.
And thus the music programme "Illumnations" bursts with freshness, fantastic dreams, the insouciance of the adolescence and the alliance between poetry and music. The second part includes such themes as nostalgia for childhood (Brahms), a conversation with the beyond (Schubert), a love vision -- and a ride with a lovable witch (Strauss), as well as a series of Spanish songs of Rodrigo that are each in its turn melodramatic and sparkling.
Francoise's accompanist is Tatiana Baklanova-Feeley, the ideal partner to set these Illuminations ablaze! Having had her outstanding training in Russia as well as the USA, and having received numerous awards for her excellence as concert pianist, she is a perfect partner in the performance of Francoise.
Francoise lives in Grenoble with her husband, Michel, himself an accomplished organist and musician, and two sons, Gabriel and David.
I shall most certainly be working towards organsing an event to have this delightful family -- and talented artists -- return to the Dordogne and the Chateau Lalinde to perform for us!
Recordings:
M.A. Charpentier - Te Deum - Midnight Mass
Les musiciens du Louvre - Marc Minkowski
Archiv, 1997 - Ref. 453 479-2 GH
G.F. Haendel - Messiah
Mark Minkovski, Original Soundtrack of William Klein's film
Deutsche Gramophon, 1999 - Ref. 459 479-2 AH
Françoise Alleysson - Recital
Works of Monteclair, Verdi, Bizet, Menoti, Strauss, Weber, Ducol, Berberian
Françoise Alleysson, Soprano
Demonstration Album (CD), 2005
Michel Alleysson - Voice, flute and two organs : Works of Bach, Fauré. First recording of “Horizons” for Soprano voice, flute et two organs, by Michel Alleysson
Organ : Michel Alleysson, Dominique Joubert - Voice, flute : Françoise Alleysson
Manhattan, 1999 - Ref. MA-44 (Audio Cassette). Available on CD (2005)
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