Hélène Brunet
Soprano
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ENGLISH
Hélène Brunet (soprano) is hailed by the critics as "a singer of tremendous quality" with "a voice of perfect beauty" and "sincere expression". Recognized for her interpretations of Bach, Handel, and Mozart, her repertoire extends from Baroque to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Hélène is the recipient of a prestigious Juno award (2022) for her first solo album Solfeggio (ATMA Classique) with renowned ensemble L‘Harmonie des saisons. She is the first artist to ever win for a solo album in the category Large Ensembles at the Junos. The critics describe Solfeggio as “a first-rate vocal achievement” (La Presse) and a “red carpet that displays Hélène’s superb and enveloping tone” (Le Devoir). Accolades continue with Solfeggio being selected as one of CBC Music’s Top 20 Classical albums of the year, received with a glowing review: “Hélène Brunet's gleaming soprano cuts through the gloom of 2020 like a ray of hope on this nicely curated survey of baroque and classical arias”. Hélène is also featured on Las Ciudades de Oro, a second Juno award winning album for ensemble L’Harmonie des saisons (2016).
In the concert repertoire, Hélène is invited to perform across North America with ensembles and orchestras, notably at the Lincoln Center in New York City with the American Classical Orchestra, with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, and the Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who says, “Hélène Brunet is the embodiment of class, refinement, and purity.”
Hélène was a prize winner at the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall. She is the recipient of generous grants from Musicaction and the Canada Council for the Arts. She studies with voice teacher Neil Semer in New York.
FRANÇAISReconnue pour son “chant d’une parfaite beauté et sa présence scénique des plus rayonnantes”, la soprano Hélène Brunet chante Bach, Handel, Mozart, et le répertoire du 20e et 21e siècle avec égal plaisir.
Hélène est récipiendaire d’un prestigieux prix Juno (2022) pour son premier album solo Solfeggio (ATMA Classique) avec l’ensemble de renom L’Harmonie des saisons. Elle est la première artiste à récolter ce prix pour un album solo dans la catégorie Grands Ensembles aux Junos. La critique décrit Solfeggio comme une “réalisation vocale de premier ordre” (La Presse), et un “tapis rouge pour le déploiement de ce timbre superbe et enveloppant” (Le Devoir). La CBC compte notamment Solfeggio parmi son Top 20 des albums classiques de 2020, citant: “La voix étincelante de soprano d'Hélène Brunet perce la morosité de 2020 comme un rayon d'espoir dans cette étude joliment choisie d'arias baroques et classiques.” Hélène paraît également sur l’album Las Ciudades de Oro, un deuxième disque de L’Harmonie des saisons à décrocher un Juno (2016).
En concert, Hélène se produit auprès de plusieurs ensembles et orchestres symphoniques à travers l’Amérique du Nord, notamment au prestigieux Lincoln Center de New York avec la American Classical Orchestra, avec l'orchestre American Bach Soloists à San Francisco, et avec l’Orchestre Métropolitain sous la direction de Yannick Nézet-Séguin, qui dit d’elle : « Hélène Brunet, c’est la classe, le raffinement, la pureté. »
Hélène est récipiendaire d’un prix à la Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition à Carnegie Hall. Elle bénéficie du généreux soutien de Musicaction ainsi que du Conseil des Arts du Canada. Elle étudie avec le professeur de chant Neil Semer à New York.
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CANADA’S TOP 20 CLASSICAL ALBUMS OF 2020
Hélène Brunet’s gleaming soprano cuts through the gloom of 2020 like a ray of hope on this nicely curated survey of baroque and classical arias. She sounds right at home with her usual early music posse, Harmonie des Saisons, whether she’s digging into the coloratura of Handel’s Scipione or spinning silky vocal lines in Vivaldi’s lilting motet “Nulla in mundo pax sincera.” The album takes its name from the final track, a wordless vocalise (or solfeggio) that must have been the model for the aria “Christe eleison” from Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, and which Brunet lovingly caresses without a trace of tension — simply beautiful!
– CBC MusicHÉLÈNE BRUNET : PLUS QUE DU SOLFÈGE
Hélène Brunet’s talent is undeniable. Her soprano voice is equal across all registers, supple and displays great ease in the coloratura passages. The high C at the end of the Exsultate jubilate is performed without the shadow of a difficulty. Throughout, the singer also displays remarkable musical intelligence (especially in the subtle ornamentation of the da capo arias) and drama, inhabiting every word, every phrase. We have here a first-rate vocal achievement showcasing a Quebec talent’.
– Emmanuel Bernier, La PresseSOLFEGGIO, HÉLÈNE BRUNET
Hélène Brunet has a very warm soprano voice. The Solfeggio program is a red carpet that displays this superb and enveloping tone. The well-mastered technical challenges nestle in the vocalizations of the aria Armatae face et anguibus from Vivaldi’ Juditha triumphans. The best of the recording is to be found in the arias in which Hélène Brunet’s voice unfolds calmly. As such, she takes pleasure in the section devoted to Bach and poses as a consoler of the soul.
– Christophe Huss, Le DevoirSOLFEGGIO
What I hear here is a very beautiful, velvety voice, as mellow in the luminous highs as those of a certain Karina Gauvin. That’s no small thing to say!
– Frédéric Cardin, PAN M 360HÉLÈNE BRUNET AND LUC BEAUSÉJOUR OFFER ELEGANT EVENING OF FINE BAROQUE FARE
“Ms Brunet… stand[s] at the beginning of a bright and exciting career. If she sings so well now, I cannot wait to hear her again in many more recitals in the years to come.”
– Stephan Bonfield, Calgary HeraldLEVIN-IZED MOZART MASS PROVES THE HIGHLIGHT OF AMERICAN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA PROGRAM
“Her melodious dialogue with the woodwinds in Et Incarnatus Est was a treasure.”
– David Wright, New York Classical ReviewAMERICAN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS: CHERUBINI, BEETHOVEN AND MOZART
“[M]arvelous. Hélène Brunet combines souple lyricism with technical elegance. In her… aria, Hélène was able to make ornements feel like a spontaneous, unplanned and experimental development of ideas.”
– Jean Ballard Telepka, TheaterScene.netQUEBEC SOPRANO HELENE BRUNET SHINES IN CPO’S BACH-AT-KNOX FESTIVAL
“This was one of the best performances of the entire festival – Brunet splendid in her clear, compact tone, effortless technique, and beguiling grace in overall presentation. This is music she understands well, and she has the flexibility of voice, breath control, and flair to make Bach’s sometimes difficult writing sound perfectly natural. It was an impressive debut.”
– Kenneth Delong, Calgary Herald -
Orchestral Repertoire
Bach
Cantatas: BWV 51
Jauchzet Gott, 82
Ich habe genug, 199
Hunt Cantata, 208
Magnificat, BWV 243
Motets, BWV 225 – 231
Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach
Psalm 51, BWV 1083
Mass in B minor, BWV 232
St. Matthew Passion Matthäus Passion, BWV 244
St. John Passion Johannes Passion, BWV 245
Christmas Oratorio Weihnachts Oratorium, BWV 248
Easter Oratorio Oster Oratorium, BWV 249
4 Missa brevis, BWV 233-236Brahms
Ein Deutsches RequiemCharpentier
Messe de Minuit pour NoëlCouperin
Leçons de TénèbresFauré
RequiemFinzi
In Terra PaxHandel
L’Allegro, HWV 55
La Resurrezione, HWV 47
Messiah, HWV 56
Dixit Dominus, HWV 232
Gloria, HWV deestHaydn
Die Schöpfung
Die JahreszeitenMahler
Symphony No. 4Mendelssohn
Psalm 42 Wie der Hirsch schreitMonteverdi
Pianto della Madonna from Selva morale e spirituale
Vespro della Beata VergineMozart
Exsultate Jubilate
Requiem
Mass in C minor
Missa BrevisPergolesi
Stabat MaterRameau
Cantate Le Berger Fidèle
Cantate OrphéeSchubert
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen
Mass in G MajorVivaldi
Gloria, RV. 589
Gloria, RV. 588
Beatus Vir, RV. 598
Motet Laudate Pueri Dominum, RV. 601
In Exitu Israel, RV. 604
Motet Laudate Pueri Omnes Gentes, RV. 606
Magnificat, RV. 611
Motet In Furore Iustissimae, RV. 626
Motet Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera, RV. 630
Motet O qui Coeli Terraeque Serenitas, RV. 631
Motet Sum in Medio Tempestatum, RV. 632
Motet Vos Aurae per Montes, RV. 634
Juditha Triumphans, RV. 644***
Opera Repertoire
Handel
Acis & Galatea (Galatea)
Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra)
Semele (Semele)Mozart
Cosi fan tutte (Despina)
Die Zauberflöte (Pamina)
Don Giovanni (Zerlina)
Idomeneo (Ilia)
La Clemenza di Tito (Servilia)
Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna)*Updated June 2022