MARIE LENORMAND
MEZZO-SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Marie Lenormand is a French mezzo-soprano recognized for her beautiful diction, her talents as an actress, and her passionate commitment to the stage. A recognized performer throughout her career specializing in Mozart, Ravel, and the French repertoire in general, she has been turning to character roles and comic roles in recent years. Winner of a Grammy Award for her participation in L'enfant et les sortilègesdirected by Seiji Ozawa (Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording 2015), she also received the Critics' Prize for "Musical Revelation 2010" for her interpretation of Mignon at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Her Périchole and Despina at New York City Opera and her Renard in The Cunning Little Vixen with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic won her an enthusiastic reception from the public and the press. Her career was particularly marked by her collaborations with Seiji Ozawa and François-Xavier Roth. She has been a member of the Favart troupe at Paris’ Opéra Comique for several years.
A renowned interpreter of Mozart throughout her career, Ms. Lenormand has also recently gained notoriety for her portrayals of comic repertoire including the operettas of Jacques Offenbach. Last season, Ms. Lenormand brought her celebrated Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro to Houston Grand Opera, appeared as Jacinthe in Le domino noir at Opera de Lausanne, Popette in Le voyage dans la lune with Opera d’Avignon, and returned to Opera de Tours for their production of Petite balade aux enfers. Her projects for the 2023-2024 season include Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict at Angers-Nantes Opéra and at the Opéra de Rennes, Frasquinella in La Périchole at the Opéra de Tours, L'ombre d'une femme in Guercoeur at the Opéra du Rhin,Baroness Skatinkolovitz in Gosse de riche on tour with Les Frivolités Parisiennes at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris, at the Opéra de Reims, and at the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, and Kinorama, a program centered around German cinema of the 1920s, with the Frivolités Parisiennes, at Vivoin and at the Opéra de Reims. [read more...]
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“... great skill…” – Olyrix
Coraline– “Marie Lenormand embodies The Mother and The Other Mother, figures of power in each of the two worlds. The mezzo-soprano elaborates the two facets of her character with great skill, between a loving mother and the demonic character that constitutes her negative side, whose false devotion reveals dark intentions. Her voice extends beyond the pit with ease, whether it is soft or on the contrary full of fury (especially when it makes her husband disappear magically), alternating shadow and light which she distills the effects.”
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"... vibrant and characterful…” – Opera News
La mère coupable – “Mezzo Marie Lenormand immediately conjured a vibrant and characterful Suzanne.”
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"... warm-voiced..." – BachTrack
Scylla et Glaucus – “Marie Lenormand, warm-voiced mezzo-soprano, who also plays the mischievous Amour with talent."
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"... tremendous impact..." – TheArtsDesk.com
Le pré aux clercs – “The role of Marguerite is more spoken than sung, but mezzo Marie Lenormand makes tremendous impact, warmly imperious as the political fairy-godmother of the piece, and adding personality to Hérold’s many trios and ensembles. Her acid interplay with Eric Huchet’s Cantarelli – the court’s bibulous Italian master of ceremonies – helps temper the opera’s more pastel-coloured pastoral moments.”