Damien Guillon Counter-tenor - Allegorica Opera Management

Damien Guillon
Counter-tenor
Damien Guillon begins his musical knowledge
in 1989 at the Maîtrise de Bretagne supervised
by Jean-Michel Noël. He receives a full music
education from his youngest age and quickly
sings as solo soprano in many baroque
oratorios as well as at the Rennes Opera in The
Magic Flute by Mozart.
From 1998 till 2001, he is a member of
the Maîtrise du Centre de Musique Baroque de
Versailles directed by Olivier Schneebeli, where
he improves his vocal technique and deepens his research about early music interpretations with Howard
Crook, Jérome Corréas, Alain Buet, Noëlle Barker. He studied continuo, harpsichord and he is in 2014
admitted at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis to receive the teaching of Andreas Scholl.
Currently, his vocal and musical qualities earned him invitations to perform with conductors as famous as
Masaaki Suzuki, Vincent Dumestre, Hervé Niquet, Philippe Pierlot, Pierre Hantaï, Jean-Claude Malgoire,
Christophe Rousset, Philippe Herreweghe, Jordi Savall, Paul McCreesh and William Christie.
His repertoire ranges from songs of the English Renaissance to Baroque oratorios and operas by
Monteverdi (L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Ritrono d’Ulisse in Patria), Bach (Saint John
Passion, Saint Matthew Passion, Mass in B minor, Lutherian masses, Christmas
Oratorio…), Händel (The Messiah, Teseo, Rinaldo, Athalie, Giulio Cesare), Purcell (King
Arthur and Dido and Aeneas), Landi’s Il Sant’Alessio etc...
Damien Guillon is now frequently invited as a conductor: he conducted Caldara’s Maddalena ai piedi di
Cristo with Les Musiciens du Paradis, Bach’s Magnificat with the Café Zimmermann and the Chamber
Choir of Rouen, Bach’s Cantatas with the Collegium Vocale Gent in Saintes Festival etc.
In 2009, Damien Guillon founded Le Banquet Céleste to promote an exacting work on the baroque
repertoire, with a regular team of singers and instrumentalists who were all specially trained in the styles
approached by the ensemble. Among other upcoming projects, Damien Guillon is working on a new
programme of Christmas cantatas by J.S. Bach, Lamentations and Respons by J.D. Zelenka, and a
stage version of Haendel’s Acis and Galatea, and further to the success of Bach Alto solo Cantatas a
new recording of Bach’s Psalm 51 due for release in March 2016.
In demand for his concert work, recent engagements include: Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion with
Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent (Lincoln Center in New York, Palau de
la Musica in Barcelone, Baden-Baden Festival etc...), with the Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, and with Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy (Palais Montcalm in Québec and Carnegie
Hall in New York); under the batton of Bernard Labadie : Vivaldi’s Selva Regina with the New World
Symphony in Miami etc.
Furture engagements included further tours with Philippe Herreweghe of Bach Christmas
cantatas, Saint Matthew Passion, Weinachts-oratorium; a European tour of Bach’s Saint
Matthew Passion with Raphaël Pichon and Ensemble Pygmalion, Bach’s Cantatas with Nederlandse
Bach Society; Bach’s Alto solo cantatas with Café Zimmerman Scarlatti’s St John Passion with Vaclav
Luks and Collegium 1704.
Date Last Edited July 2015
ALLEGORICA Opera Management
20 Passage de la Bonne Graine, 75011 PARIS
[email protected]