Biography

Faustine de Monès is a French soprano praised by The Guardian for her emotive expressivity and natural presence. She has performed on international stages including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Barbican Theatre, the Israeli Opera House, the Grand Théâtre de Limoges, the Radio France Musique, the Aldeburgh Festival and the Ravinia Music Festival, and worked as a soloist with conductors such as Lionel Bringuier, Stephen Barlow, Christian Curnyn, Paul Nadler and Joseph Colaneri.

Forthcoming and recent engagements include Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen for Opera de Rouen/Theatre de Champs Elysées, Crobyle in Massenet’s Thaïs for Opera de Toulon, the World Premiere of Betsy Jolas’ Ces belles années… with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London and at Aix-en-Provence Festival. Also Saariaho’s Cinq Reflets with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, and Saariaho’s Die Aussicht and Changing Light for both the Festival Musica in Strasbourg and the Palau de la Música in Barcelona.

Recent engagements include Nouille la grenouille/La Lune in Marc-Olivier Dupin’s Robert le Cochon et les Kidnappeurs for Opera Comique Paris, Saariaho’s Die Aussicht and Changing Light for both the Festival Musica in Strasbourg and the Palau de la Música in Barcelonam, Saariaho’s Château de l’âme with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and soprano soloist at the opening gala “Musiques en fête” of the 2021 and 2022 Chorégies d’Orange, broadcast live on French TV.

The 20-21 season saw Faustine making her Italian debut in Siena as Serpina in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona with the Giovanile Italiana Orchestra, conducted by Diego Ceretta and directed by Daniele Gatti and Luciano Acocella. She also sang Puccini at the Invalides with Clément Mao-Takacs and his Secession Orchestra, broadcast live on Radio Classique.

She was a critically-acclaimed Soeur Constance in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at Theater Aachen in Germany, conducted by Justus Thorau, and did a jump-in for this same role at the Nordhausen Theater in Germany. She was also a featured artist in the Génération Jeunes Interprètes showcase for Radio France Musique.

Faustine’s roles in Europe include Zerlina Don Giovanni and Naiad Ariadne auf Naxos at the Pfefferberg Theater in Berlin; Sandmännchen Hänsel und Gretel in the Amphitheatre of the Oslo Opera House; the title role in Handel’s Semele with the Benslow Music Festival, Zerlina Don Giovanni with Longborough Festival Opera Young Artists on tour, and the role of Burgundy White at the Christie’s London world premiere of The Lovely Ladies by Peter Cowdrey. Her performance of the title role in Dido and Aeneas with the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at the Aldeburgh Festival, conducted by Christian Curnyn, was praised by The Guardian for its “grace and natural expressivity.”

In the US, her appearances included her Carnegie Hall debut performing Poulenc’s Trois Poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin in the Weill Recital Hall; Amy March in Mark Adamo’s Little Women with the Mannes Opera in NYC, conducted by Maestro Colaneri; and opening New York Fashion Week as a guest performer for the Givenchy 2016 runway directed by Marina Abramović.

Hailing from Paris, Faustine made her operatic debut at the Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, originating the lead soprano role in the world premiere of Isabelle Aboulker’s Les Fables enchantées. She earned a first-class bachelor’s degree with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and her MM and Artist Diploma in Opera Performance at Mannes College of Music in New York.

Faustine was fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute in Chicago and the Caramoor Music Festival in New York, as well as the Garsington Festival in the UK, where she covered the role of Iris in their 2017 production of Semele. She has been invited several times to take part in the International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) in Canada and Israel, where she performed Soeur Constance Dialogues des Carmélites in Tel Aviv and Laurette in Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle in Montréal under the baton of Metropolitan Opera conductor Paul Nadler. In 2013 Faustine made her Israeli Opera House stage debut with the Israeli Chamber Orchestra for the IVAI Gala Concert.

A frequent recitalist, she has performed at the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House in London; the Graham Johnson Concert Series at the Guildhall School of Music; and the Oxford Lieder Festival masterclasses with Julius Drake and Roger Vignoles. As well as her recent performance at the Maison de la Radio, Faustine was a featured soloist at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France for Radio France Musique.

Faustine won the contemporary prize of the 2018 Enescu International Singing Competition and the first prize as well as the audience prize in the 2017 Vivonne International Competition and the duo prize at the 2017 Toulouse Mélodie Française Competition.

Website: https://www.faustinedemones.com/

Reviews

“Grace and natural expressivity”

The grace and natural expressivity of Faustine de Monès [were] heart-rendingly beautiful...Her singing of the famous final lament brought tears to the eyes.
— Rian Evans - The Guardian

“Excellent!”

Faustine de Monès is excellent, with bell-bright, not too light soprano as the young novice Constance.
— Stefan Schmöe - OMM Online Music Magazine

“Performed brilliantly”

…and especially the Frenchwoman Faustine de Monès - who jumped in at short notice and performed brilliantly, both vocally, as well as through her joy in performing.
— Andre Sittner - Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

Artist Manager:
Stephen Svanholm
+46 738 777 631
stephen@svanholmartists.com