Marie-Nicole Lemieux

“You might think that a band called Les Violons du Roy would feature period instruments: it doesn't, but the playing is lean and muscular, with plenty of light and air...Lemieux's spine-tingling account of Clytemnestra's air in Iphigenie en Aulide is complemented by Bernard Labadie's attention to detail” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013

“The Canadian contralto's depth is genuine, even if there's a mezzo quality higher up. Hers may not be the richest or most rounded tone around, but she delivers everything assigned to her with a keen dramatic overview...Her ability to extract meaning from text and notes is impressive throughout.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 ****

“her bottom range shows a strength worthy of Marilyn Horne...[in the Mitridate aria] Lemieux is a veritable spitfire as she spews out the young man's venom...Lemieux sings [Che faro?] with rich tone, clear focus and subtle hints in her colouring...This CD is another desirable addition to Lemieux's growing discography, with so much in which to revel.” International Record Review, February 2013

“We prize Handel’s stage works for their tragic depth, but there is a gentler, nobler strain that explains the title given to this CD. Uniting two stylish Canadians, one a soprano and the other a contralto, it comprises 15 numbers from the English oratorios Handel wrote late in his career.” Financial Times, 15th October 2011 ***

“Gauvin's soprano has a warm timbre that blends beautifully with Lemieux's deep, dusky contralto. Individually, too, they are fabulous - Lemieux's opening 'Destructive war' is a dramatic tour de force. The heart of the disc is the profound, moving duet 'Streams of pleasure'...these polished, beautifully balanced performances are a pleasure to listen to” Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 ****

“Bright, edgy woodwind; neat violins; an ever-purposeful bass line; two healthful, smiling voices and some lovely music. There is much to admire...but there is little sense of dramatic context...If you can put that aside, you can relish the pizazz with which Lemieux and Gauvin attack each oratorio character's emotional state...It's a handsome, stylish, polished performance.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ****

“There is indeed plenty to enjoy, especially where soprano Karina Gauvin is involved...[Lemieux] is a singer with temperament to burn...But in less overwrought music...I wanted less gusty phrasing, more care from true legato...If this is not quite the Handel recital I was hoping for, it's still worth investigating for Lemieux's viscerally exciting singing and, above all, Gauvin's ideal Handelian mix of grace and profound emotional truth.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2011

“Part of the attraction of [the] blending of voices is that Gauvin's middle tones have a warmth, almost mezzo-ish, which accords well with Lemieux's rich bloom...I am not one who throws accolades around like confetti, but the enjoyment that this CD has provided brings from me an IRR Outstanding recommendation. The disc is entitled 'Streams of Pleasure' but for me it is a full, flowing river.” International Record Review, November 2011

“The programme is formidably intelligent: well-known items are placed alongside some terrific music by composers we rarely hear (Halévy and Wormser, for instance), the aim being to remind us that the dividing line between success and oblivion can sometimes be painfully thin.” The Guardian, 11th November 2010 ***

“This is an attractive record and its appeal may well be felt before a note of it is heard. Many who take a particular interest in singing find themselves drawn to the French repertoire...and this young singer - perhaps still new to some - so provocatively classified as "contralto" also has the kind of name and background that attract the attention of traditional record collectors.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“[In the Letter Scene] Lemieux is awake to the changes of mood as she moves between a lovely quiet opening section to more ecstatic utterances. The interpretation is first-rate...The wistfulness and sense of longing with which Lemieux recalls Mignon's past are feelingly expressed...The playing under Fabien Gabel is fine all through.” International Record Review, March 2011

“This procession of femmes fatales, schemers and innocents has a point to make, and it's not just the singer's ability to get under their skin...it shows them as part of a larger movement: the rise of the 19th-century French mezzo...Marie-Nicole Lemieux is equal to them all, adjusting vibrato and shading an essentially contralto colour according to dramatic demands.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2011 *****

“His angelic counter-tenor is set to the warm, cossetting accompaniment of an early-music ensemble prominently featuring viola da gamba, organ and harpsichord...but Jaroussky is the star.” The Independent, 9th April 2010 ****

“No counter-tenor beats Jaroussky for pure, elegant soprano tone...If the subject matter never alters, the moods show much variety. He grieves with Mary beside the cross; he rejoices with alleluias; he worships on bended knee...For lovers of the esoteric and refined.” The Times, 24th April 2010 ****

“Jaroussky’s agility in the virtuoso alleluias of Rigatti’s motet is a thing of wonder...His is a beautiful voice, pure, limpid, full-toned and backed up by mature interpretative intelligence and expressive feeling. Words matter in this music, and Jaroussky’s emotional responses are consistently illuminating.” The Telegraph, 4th June 2010 *****

“[Jaroussky] creates magical contrasts between full voice and restrained tone...Clearly recorded recorded, if a touch closely, in a beautiful church acoustic, this is a most attractive disc of refreshingly new repertoire” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 ****

“Haim is pure dynamite” The Telegraph

“Haim’s meteoric rise has been well charted by the press. It’s easy to understand the excitement - her enthusiasm is infectious, her conducting demeanour distinctive, and her knowledge intense.” Gramophone Magazine

“Waif-like, driven, messianic or explosive, non-conformist, unruly, either way, the conductor Emmanuelle Haim has enough charisma to draw crowds in her wake. Haim is the most dynamic force to have hit the period movement since the 1970s. She’s a born leader” Financial Times

“This all-star cast includes the ravishing Natalie Dessay as Monteverdi's forsaken nymph, Véronique Gens, a proud, desolate Ariadne, and Joyce DiDonato, who sings Octavia's farewell with extraordinary dramatic passion. Much of the interest of this disc lies in its subtleties, Emmanuelle Haïm highlighting telling details...” BBC Music Magazine, November 2008 *****

“A starry host of singers bring their talents to bear on Haïm's programme” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“The absorbing six songs that make up Op 86 are all easily encompassed by Marie-Nicole Lemieux, not least because her technique is so secure that she can pay attention to the meaning of each song. Feldeinsamkeit, so inwardly sung, and Todessehnen receive particularly thoughtful readings, all supported finely by Michael McMahon's perceptive playing.
The nine songs of Op 69 are expressly designed for a woman and have their moments, but they're among the less inspired in Brahms's large output of Lieder. Not so, of course, the two songs with viola – the admirable Nicolò Eugelmi here. To these gently lulling, timeless pieces, Lemieux brings the sovereign virtues of firm line and apt phrasing.
The CD reaches its zenith in Brahms last and greatest Lieder, his Vier ernste Gesänge. Lemieux rises to their challenge. The interpretations are properly earnest, but intimate, never overblown.
Her partner is again exemplary in his discreet yet positive playing.
A natural acoustic adds to the pleasure to be gained from this sensibly planned recital, which is highly recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010