Véronique Gens, soprano

Véronique Gens stands among the most celebrated French sopranos of her generation, acclaimed for a career that spans opera, concert, recital, and recording. Widely recognised as a leading interpreter of Mozart and the French repertoire, she has in recent seasons expanded her range to encompass roles by Strauss and Janáček.

Recent and upcoming operatic appearances include: The Marschallin ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Emilia Marty ‘The Makropulos Case’ at the Opéra de Lille, Madame Lidoine ‘Dialogues des Carmélites’ at the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, a staging of Berlioz’s ‘La Mort de Cléopâtre’ at the Tiroler Festspiele, Erl, Clitemestre ‘Iphigénie en Aulide’ at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and for the Greek National Opera, the title role of Charpentier’s ‘Médée’ with Les Arts Florissants at Teatro Real in Madrid.

A defining moment of her career came with her portrayal of Donna Elvira in the production of ‘Don Giovanni’ by Peter Brook conducted by Claudio Abbado, bringing her worldwide recognition. Her repertory comprises the leading Mozart roles and the great roles of tragédie lyrique, including ‘Iphigénie en Tauride’ and ‘Alceste’, but also heroines of a later period, including Alice Ford ‘Falstaff’ and Eva ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’.

Véronique Gens gives numerous concerts and recitals in a wide-ranging repertory all over the world, notably in Paris, Berlin, Beijing, Vienna, Prague, London, Stockholm and Moscow.

She has performed on the world’s foremost operatic stages, among them the Opéra National de Paris, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, La Monnaie, Teatro Real, Dutch National Opera and various festivals.

Her many recordings (more than eighty CDs and DVDs) have received several international prizes including Gramophone Awards for ‘Néère’ (2016) and ‘La Reyne de Chypre’ (2019). ‘Visions’ obtained an International Classical Music Award and an International Opera Award (2018). In 2023, she was named “Artist of the Year” by Gramophone and received the Ehrenpreis from the Schallplattenkritik.

Maciej Pikulski, pianist

Soloist, chamber musician and accompanist to leading singers, Maciej Pikulski has already performed in over 300 concert halls on 5 continents.

He received his diploma in piano, chamber music and vocal accompaniment at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, Paris, where he also studied as a postgraduate and was a prize-winner of the France Telecom Foundation.

A pupil of Dominique Merlet and Clive Britton (himself a former pupil of the legendary Claudio Arrau), Maciej Pikulski has performed as soloist in Liszt’s ‘Totentanz’ and Gershwin’s ‘Rhasody in Blue’ at the Música em Trancoso Festival, Brazil, Gershwin’s ‘Concerto in F’ at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and Sala São Paulo, Rachmaninoff’s Concerto no. 2 in Logroño, Spain, Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Concerto no. 5 in Biarritz, France, Chopin’s ‘Concerto no. 2’ in Olsztyn, Poland, and given solo piano recitals in Uruguay, Russia, India, Sri Lanka, Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland and Belgium.

Together with bass-baritone José van Dam he has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, New York, La Scala, Milano, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Bruxelles, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris and with Renée Fleming, recitals at Salle Pleyel, Paris, the Musikverein, Vienna, Grand Theatre de Genève, the Barbican, London, Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden, Dublin Concert Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague, as well as with Thomas Hampson, Natalie Dessay, Diana Damrau, Aida Garifulina, Elina Garanca, Nicolas Testé, Dame Felicity Lott, Luca Pisaroni, Maria Bayo, Sumi Jo, Anna-Caterina Antonacci, Laurent Naouri, Joseph Calleja, Patricia Petibon, Paul Gay, Angelika Kirschlager and others.

Maciej Pikulski has recorded 16 CDs and DVD’s and given masterclasses in Paris, London, Rome, Parma, Milano, Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam, Graz, Antwerp, Washington, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Sao Paulo, Manilla and Warsaw. He holds a professorship with tenure at the Centro Superior de Música, San Sebastian, Spain and in Ecole Normale de Musique, Alfred Cortot, in Paris.

The specialist music press has acclaimed Maciej Pikulski for his “poetic sensitivity” (Globe and Mail, Toronto) and “powerful technique” (New York Times), praising him as a “magnificent musician” (Le Figaro), “great pianist” (Corriere de la Serra) and “el mage del piano” (Ritmo).