Bénédicte Tauran
3rd Prize voice 2003
The young soprano Bénédicte Tauran began her music education with voice training and Early Music studies at the Music Academy of her home town of Limoges (France). She then pursued specialised instrumental studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland followed by voice studies at the Music Academy in Neuchâtel.
In the season 2011 / 2012, she has performed a.o. Queen Elizabeth in the world premiere of Richard III by Battistelli at the opéra de Genève ( Prod. Ro-bert carsen), Léna in Saint-Saens‘s rarity la Princesse Jaune at the Opéra de Rennes, Tisbe in Hasses‘s Piramo e Tisbe at the Potsdam Festival, Albina in la Donna del lago at the Theater an der Wien (Leo Hussain/Christof Loy) and Amour in Gluck‘s Orphée et Eurydice with the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie in Grenoble.
Her upcoming performances lead her to Aix-en-Provence for Vivaldi‘sla Fida Ninfa in concert, the Victoire Hall in Genève for Pergolesi‘s la Stabat Mater. Among her plans in 2013, Najade in the new production of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Freiburg Theater, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Opéra de Lausanne, Biancofiorein Zandonais‘s Francesca da Rimini in Freiburg (incl. Naxos CD release).
In 2011 she has been highly praised by audience and press for her performance of Armida in Haendel‘s Rinaldo at the Opéra de Lausanne under the baton of Diego Fasolis.
Her operatic debut was at the Prague Opera in the role of Phebe in Castor et Pollux. Since then, she has performed roles such as Anna in Die lustigen Wei-ber von Windsor, Norina in Don Pasquale, Aennchen in der Freischütz, Musetta in La Bohème, Jemmy in Guillaume Tell, Giunone in Cavalli‘s La Calisto, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, 5th serving woman in Elektra.
Among her recent engagements, Dorine in Marin Marais‘ Sémélé, Sangaride in Lully‘s Atys, Aurore in Grétry‘s Céphale et Procris, Arminda in La finta gi-ardiniera, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Clarice in Il mondo della luna, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Lucia 1-2 in Hindemith‘s Le long dîner de Noël, Cleonice in Mayr‘s Demetrio, Berta in Il Barbiere die Siviglia, Clairette in Lecocq‘s La fille de madame Angot.
Bénédicte Tauran is also very active as a concert performer and recital singer in Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, France and South America. She has given recitals at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (pianist Todd Camburn), at Radio-France in Paris (pianist Guillaume Coppola) and at the Avignon Opera. Bénédice Tauran has won numerous prizes in competitions, including the second prize at the prestigious Salzburg Mozart competition in 2006 an the first prize at the first Viotti Competition in Lausanne in 2008.