A life for the heavenly voice: Philippe Jaroussky is one of the most important countertenors and sings the most beautiful arias repertoire on a “farewell tour” in Hanover. And talks about ironing, the magic of the high register – and why he’s going on tour with a guitarist next year.

Monsieur Jaroussky, there is a rumor that you like to iron before every concert?

But absolutely. For me it is already a tradition, this “ironing”. Then I can always be sure that everything is okay with my stage outfit. It’s a wonderful art of focusing on something. There is also something meditative about the preparation – it’s also a bit like ironing my brain.

They are known for always wearing black …

In the meantime, a little white has also been added. But the black allows you to portray yourself as simply as possible. I love song evenings, recitals, concerts like here in Hanover more than opera appearances – and if I understood myself as a broadcaster between the music and the audience, flashy clothing would only be a nuisance. I prefer to be on stage and sing – without any action.

How do YOU ​​manage to make you feel as if you are singing an aria that you have sung hundreds of times, just here especially for this audience?

Because every evening is really different and new for me too, there is no particular secret. It just depends on so many factors, every acoustics is different, every audience in Madrid, Paris or Hanover. The orchestras are different. The rehearsals are different for each concert. It’s about conveying emotions in the best possible way. And less is better than more. The audience should never think, but that is “too much” now.

What does your current tour include?

In a way, it’s a little “farewell tour”. I last presented the program in Australia. I will sing arias here that I love, which I will then never sing again – like the famous “Scherza infida”. But that shouldn’t make anyone sad.

That sounds a little like the singer Jaroussky’s farewell?

Well, I’m getting older too, the voice changes, develops, then you have to do other things.

What if the voice no longer likes?

Above all, I love that I am a musician, that I can make music, that I live with music, that is the most important thing. I’ve always had it in my head to be a conductor. Also next year is my premiere in Paris as a conductor with Handel’s “Cesare”. The rehearsals are very exhausting – you really get muscles. And I don’t miss being a singer.

Has the countertenor boom been going on for 20 years?

But absolutely. Under is getting bigger and bigger. In my opinion, there are two reasons for this: on the one hand, the baroque is increasingly in demand as a genre of its own, because it fits in so well with the times – and for that you also need the singers. On the other hand: I wouldn’t say that the countertenor is a female voice, but it’s a special way of expressing yourself as a man. And that fits when there has been so much talk about gender for some time. The high-pitched voice allows you to be young, childlike as a man and, conversely, women with a deep voice to appear as powerful figures – like your Angela. In the baroque all this is mixed up, and it is also a fight against the romantic heroic tenor. It is a corresponding art to show the sensitivity of the man.

Her new album “A sa Guitare” is only for countertenor and guitar. How do you come to that?

That was an idea of ​​mine when I once recorded two pieces with guitarist Thibaut Garcia. I like to touch new things. Not always just baroque arias, baroque arias, baroque arias … That was a risk, this program, which includes pieces from three centuries. The Brazilian songs were great fun, I found them on Youtube, and it flashed immediately. We also owe the whole thing to the corona pandemic, we had time to rehearse and experiment.

Also with the German language. How difficult was Schubert’s “Erlkönig”?

It was scary like the whole story. The boy’s voice goes well with this poem. It gave me complete freedom because it was specially designed for guitar and voice.

Will you be coming to Germany again with your current CD?

Sure, but at the moment only Munich is planned.

How did you get through the pandemic so far?

Before I even became a singer, I was an instrumentalist, I played the piano and the violin. And so I had time to work intensively with the piano again. And played a lot of Schubert. Somehow I got back to my roots.

What experiences do you pass on in your academy?

We teach children who die in their lives, who have no contact with music in their parents’ home. And without any fees or costs. We always say that music is for an elite. That’s true – and something has to be done about it. We teach a hundred children for three years and then try to place them in music schools. We will soon be celebrating our five year old and opening a second school in another part of Paris. Not everyone becomes a professional musician, of course – but they have had a life-changing experience.

Would you have liked to have attended a school like this?

I was lucky – a teacher discovered me when I was eleven because I sang so well. And he told my parents that Philippe should start with the music. When I was 18 I heard a countertenor for the first time, madness, I thought instinctively, I want that too.

When the concert is over, how do you get down?

It just takes time. I sleep a lot, sleep is best for the voice. Eleven hours save the voice. I also get up very late on the day of the concert, two hours before the concert I don’t say a word. And after that, when the energy from the concert dies down, it will be three or four o’clock.

From Henning Queren