Ecstatic Living Room

The charismatic French soprano Natalie Dessay is one of the most exciting opera singers on the stage today, equally celebrated for both her incandescent singing and her superb acting.  She originally sought a career as an actress, but discovered her talent for singing while taking acting classes.  She dropped the “h” in the original spelling of her name in tribute to the actress Natalie Wood.

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The French harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset has long been one of the bright lights of the early music and period instruments scene. At twenty-two he won the prestigious First Prize, as well as the Public Prize, in the Seventh Bruges Harpsichord Competition (1983).He performed with Les Arts Florissants and then Il Seminario Musicale before embarking on a career as a music director, which led him to form his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991. (more…)

Xuefei Yang is an internationally acclaimed classical guitarist, performing for audiences across the globe. Her talent was recognized early – at the age of 14 she made her Spanish debut in Madrid, with the composer Joaquin Rodrigo attending her concert. She is the first Chinese guitarist to become a professional musician on the international music scene. She performs in the world’s major concert halls, plays concertos with the world’s leading orchestras and has an exclusive recording contract with EMI Classics. Her first EMI CD, Romance De Amor achieved a gold disc, and her second, 40 Degrees North, was recognized in China as the best classical CD of 2009, and CD of the month in Gramophone.

Xuefei has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs, including a successful performance at the BBC Proms, and an interview for “Woman’s Hour” on BBC Radio 4. In 2009 Xuefei performed at the Brit Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Xuefei was the subject of a documentary by CCTV in China.

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