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Bernard Labadie, conductor...

b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up January 2008 Hailed for his "full-bodied" and "strongly dramatic" interpretations that manage "to preserve a sense of transparency" (Toronto Star), Bernard Labadie has established himself as one of the leading conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire. Canada’s eminent critic William Littler called him the "King of the Classical." And upon hearing his Los Angeles Philharmonic Messiah, the LA Weekly declared that "the Labadie Messiah was one of those legendary occasions when music you think you know front and back turns into an exhilarating discovery." Much of Labadie’s unique reputation is the result of his work with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, which he founded in 1984 and 1985, respectively, and continues to lead as music director to this day. With the two ensembles he regularly tours Canada, the US and Europe. In 2003, he led the orchestra, with David Daniels as soloist, in performances in London, Paris and Salzburg and later joined forces with Magdalena Kožená for his debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and on a tour of European summer festivals in 2004. He and Kožená have joined forces again with Les Violons du Roy for a tour throughout North America in 2006, with concerts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York and Montreal. A recent tour with Les Violons du Roy and American mezzo Vivica Genaux brought him back to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Rheingau Festival in Germany in the summer of 2007. Passionate about opera, Bernard Labadie was Artistic Director of L’Opéra de Montréal through the end of the 2005/06 season. In 2003, he conducted Handel’s Orlando in his debut with Glimmerglass Opera and a year later made his New York opera debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival, conducting Les Violons du Roy in the Jonathan Miller production of Così fan tutte. In the summer of 2005, he made his debut in Santa Fe in Mozart’s Lucio Silla. Between 1994 and 2003, Labadie was also Artistic and Music Director of L’Opéra de Québec. He embraces the entire Baroque, Classical and Romantic opera repertoire. Equally at home on the concert stage, Labadie has become a sought-after guest conductor with the major orchestras. Ever since his triumphant debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1999, he has conducted the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the symphonies of San Francisco, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Seattle, Detroit, Indianapolis, Toronto, Vancouver, the New World Symphony in Miami, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco, Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle, and Musikkollegium Winterthur, among others. 2007-08 is another season full of noteworthy appearances with such top orchestras as the San Francisco Symphony (marking his third appearance), St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Edmonton Symphony, to name a few. In Europe, he conducts the NDR Symphony in Hannover, Germany, the Orquestra Simfonica del Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow. Upcoming seasons will feature him on a tour of Australian orchestras (Melbourne, Brisbane, Tasmania) in October 2008 and debuts with the Chicago Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra, among others. His extensive discography includes many recordings on the Dorian label, including Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and his collaboration with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec of Mozart’s Requiem, both of which won a Juno award as best classical recording with singers and choirs and best classical recording of a vocal or choral performance, respectively. Other recordings feature his own arrangements of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and The Art of Fugue, among others. His most recent releases feature Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy on the Virgin Classics label (2006) and Handel’s Water Music on ATMA. He also appears regularly on radio and television broadcasts on the CBC/Radio-Canada network. For his achievements, the Canadian government honored him with the appointment as "Officer of the Order of Canada" in 2005 and Quebec made him a "Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Québec" in 2006. Bernard Labadie completed most of his musical training in his native Québec City at the School of Music of Laval University as well as the conservatories of Quebec and Montreal. b i o......r e v i e w s..... back to roster...up . . . .

. r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up Mozart 250th Commemoration – New World Symphony “A period instrument specialist, Labadie favors spare vibrato from the strings, clarity of texture and light instrumental timbres. Labadie’s best offering was the Overture to The Magic Flute. The conductor led a sprightly performance with sharp, bright hued instrumental execution.” Miami Herald Mozart REQUIEM – New Jersey Symphony “On Friday at NJPAC’s Prudential Hall, the NJSO was joined by Princeton’s Westminster Choir and conductor Bernard Labadie for a beautiful performance of this Requiem, among other works…. Labadie was obviously a help…. The French-Canadian’s early-music expertise brings insights to the Requiem, which was influenced by Mozart’s study of Bach and Handel. On Friday, nothing seemed romanticized or operatic; … inner parts were alive …; mellifluous legato was balanced with dynamic energy.” New Jersey Star-Ledger Bach ORCHESTRA SUITE No. 4 – Philadelphia Orchestra “Guest conductor Bernard Labadie, the French Canadian early-music specialist whom I’ve known and loved from recordings, led Bach’s Orchestra Suite No. 4, summoning a lean but still alluring string sound from the unusually alert orchestra, plus a wind-instrument blend distinctive from other baroque specialists who have come before him.” Philadelphia Inquirer LUCIO SILLA – Santa Fe Opera “Bernard Labadie conducted idiomatically, paying close attention to the rhythmic dynamics of this youthful score, and to its pre-echoes of the glories yet to come in Mozart’s brief career.” Opera News “Bernard Labadie has the Santa Fe orchestra playing with such alert incisiveness that you would think it a period-instrument band.” Financial Times (London) “The musicians are also in great form under the baton of Bernard Labadie in a rare production of Mozart’s juvenile work Lucio Silla.” New Statesman GOLDBERG VARIATIONS – Mercury Baroque Ensemble “The arrangement by Bernard Labadie, head of Quebec’s internationally acclaimed Les Violins du Roy, was respectful yet sophisticated and lively…. Labadie deftly expanded and adapted the harpsichord original for string instruments. In every variation, the arrangement was true to the spirit of the music; in a few it clarified and invigorated music that can seem dry when heard via the impersonal pluckings of harpsichord strings.” Houston Chronicle AGRIPPINA – L’Opéra de Montréal “It should come as no surprise that with Bernard Labadie at the artistic helm of the company, L’Opéra de Montréal would seriously explore the rich repertoire of the baroque…. The most compelling reason to go to this production is the great rapport between the singers and les Violons du Roy….What Labadie has done is assemble a nicely balanced cast…. Agrippina is hugely entertaining. Beautiful singing of a rarely heard opera and most lovingly set.” Globe and Mail (Toronto) b i o.......r e v i e w s back to roster...up . . . .