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AGNÈS MELLON ▪ vocals

AGNES

SINGING

MELON

ESM Bourgogne Franche-Comte

In 1981, Agnès Mellon successively entered la Chapelle Royale by P. Herreweghe and Arts Florissants by W. Christie. She sang under the direction of many conductors: Gardiner, Malgoire, Koopman, Leonhardt, Kuijken, Jacobs, at the Paris Opera, at the Théàtre des Champs Élysées, Salle Pleyel, Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebow and the Amsterdam Opera, as well as in several venues in Tokyo. In 1997 she founded her own ensemble, "Barcarolle", to promote the chamber music repertoire of the Baroque era. With her ensemble, she recorded Les goddesses outraged (ALPHA) and Parole e querele d'amore (Zig Zag Territoires).

Alongside the Baroque repertoire, Agnès Mellon has given numerous recitals with Christian Ivaldi. She also created  recitals-shows (directed by Mireille Larroche) with the pianist François Kerdoncuff: Sketches of the life of a woman, and for a family audience, Chante-moi une histoire.

In 2005, she founded the Accanto association (which means “singing alongside”) which brought together all of her artistic and educational projects. His discography – more than sixty discs – covers a wide repertoire, from the great lyrical tragedies of the Baroque era to French melody. Holder of a CA, Agnès Mellon devotes a lot of time to her passion for teaching. She created in 2008 a professional training center for young singers wishing to improve their baroque style, La pépinière des voix (Five productions in 2011, in collaboration with Les Folies Françoises). She taught at L'Ecole Normale de Paris and at the CRD de Yerres (91). Permanent professor at the ESM Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, she also participates in numerous Master Classes (USA, Quebec, Japan – French Music Academy in Kyoto – and CNSMD in Paris, Sablé, Handel festival in Karlsruhe).

The French soprano, Agnès Mellon, joined in 1981 successively the Royal Chapel, directed by Philippe Herreweghe, and The Flourishing Arts, directed by William Christie.

Agnès Mellon's career as a soloist has led her to sing under the direction of many noted conductors, such as: John Eliot GardinerJean-Claude MalgoireYour KoopmanGustav LeonardhtSigiswald Kuijken and Rene Jacobs, to name a few. She has performed in the most prestigious venues as the Opéra de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Salle Pleyel, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Concertgebow and the Opera of Amsterdam, as well as in several halls in Tokyo, and in most Europeans Festivals. 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_Castor et Pollux by JP Rameau (in Aix en Provence), and Creüse in Médée by MA Charpentier.

With all that experience in hand, Agnès Mellon has founded in 1997 her own ensemble Barcarole, which specializes in the interpretation of Baroque chamber music for voice and instruments, including_cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_both sacred and profane works of infinite wealth. The american harpsichordist Kenneth Weiss is her main collaborator for Barcarole. With her ensemble, she performs mainly in Europe. The first Barcarole recording, Déesses Outragées was released in 2005 by the label Alpha Productions_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136 by Blambault and Clé cantabois .

In addition to performing works from the Baroque repertoire, Agnès Mellon also gives recitals with pianist Christian Ivaldi. She has been accompanied, in her recitals of Lieder and French melodies by various other pianists: Claude Lavoix, Jean-François Heisser, Marie-Joseph Jude, Billy Heidi, François Kerdoncuff, Georges Pludermacher, Francois-Rene Duchable, and Laure Colladant with the pianoforte.

Agnès Mellon enjoys creating events that combine the best of different areas of the arts:
- She prepared a recital of Berlioz' works with actor Alain Carré and pianists François-René Duchâble and Georges Pludermacher.
- As part of a retrospective exhibit of impressionist painter Berthe Morisot, she presented a recital of musical settings of texts by Mallarmé (who was a close friend of the artist's) at the Musée de Lille.
- Recital-spectacles (staged by Mireille Larroche) with the pianist François Kerdoncuff: Esquisses de la vie d'une femme and, for young audiences, Chante-moi une histoire .

In 2005, she founded an association called Accanto (a play on words meaning “[singing] alongside”) to combine all her artistic and teaching projects.

Agnès Mellon's impressive discography - which includes over sixty recordings - covers a large repertoire, from the great lyric tragedies of the Baroque era to French mélodie. In 2003, her recording entitled Maria, Madre di Dio with the Ensemble Arion (label early-music.com), was awarded Best album of the year - Early music (OPUS Magazine, Toronto, March/April 2004). A few titles of her discography: Rameau: Pygmalion, Castor et Pollux; Charpentier: Leçons de Ténèbres, Actéon, Christmas Oratorio, Médée; Monteverdi: Vespers, Madrigals;_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_Lully: Atys; Purcell: Songs of Britannicus, Dido and Aeneas; Antonio Vivaldi: Incoronazione di Dario; Mozart: Mass; Boccherini:_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_Stabat Mater; J.S. Bach: Cantatas, Messes brèves, Magnificat; Mondonville: Les Festes de Paphos; Boismortier:_cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_The Four Seasons; Chabrier: Mélodies;_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb5b_58dbadGeorge Frideric Handel: Marian Cantatas, St John Passion; Gabriel Fauré: Requiem; Heinrich Schutz: Motets; Gilles: Requiem.

Holder of a CA teaching certificate from Conservatoire de Paris, Agnès Mellon also devotes a great deal of time to another of her passions: teaching. She has participated in many master-classes (ie Italy), including those organized by the Académie de musique française de Kyoto (since 1997) and the CNSM de Paris.

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