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Alexey Parin, Boris Ignatov and Pavel Tokaryev, leaders of radio program “The Opera Club” broadcast by “Echo of Moscow”, talking to Philippe Jaroussky. Some of the questions were asked by listeners on the phone.
DE I: What did you feel when you came to Moscow? What are you expecting of the city?
P.J.: I don’t know the country; I don’t understand the language; I am looking at everything through wide-open eyes, like a naïve child. Of course, my first architectural impressions were very strong.
DE I: But you’ve got some Russian blood. In Russian your name would sound “Ya-russky”.
P.J.: This is the case: when I was crossing the Russian border I told my name, and everybody were roaring with laughter. My grandfather fled from the Russian revolution. When he arrived at the French border he was asked about his name, and he answered: “Ya – russky (I am Russian)“. So it was written down. Though French people pronounce my name differently.
DE I: What was your first part?
P.J.: My first role was a part in Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Sedek”. Gerard Len was recording it later, and he needed a singer with a light high voice, maybe a woman, for the part of the son. At that time my voice was light, and after a few rehearsals with Len I suited the role.
DE I: Many singers have their own model singers that influence them professionally. Who among counter-tenors, in your opinion, has the ideal sound?
P.J.: I have got no ideal. In some singers I like one thing; in others I like another. For example, one of my great loves is Anri Ledroit, a French counter-tenor. He is a very deep and emotional artist. Of course, James Bowman and Gerard Len became big discoveries for me. I follow counter-tenors’ performances very carefully; I always want to be well informed. David Daniels deserves a special word: he’s been extending the counter-tenor repertoire recently, and he is singing many parts, which were never performed by counter-tenors before ( ... )
© DE I / DESILLUSIONIST #-1. “Counter-Tenor Philippe Jaroussky”
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