Recognized for her work in the Baroque repertoire, Canadian soprano
Karina Gauvin sings Bach, Mahler, Britten and the music of the 20th and
21st centuries with equal success.
Mrs Gauvin has sung with the world’s leading symphony orchestras,
including the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the San Francisco
Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic and the
Rotterdam Philharmonic, as well as Baroque orchestras such as Les Talens
Lyriques, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Le concert de la Loge, Accademia
Bizantina, Il Complesso Barocco, Freiburger Baroque Orchestra, the
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy.
She has performed under the direction of Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson
Thomas, Michel Plasson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Ivor Bolton, Mikko Frank,
Teodor Currentzis, Bernard Labadie, Christophe Rousset, Sir Roger
Norrington, Kent Nagano, Fabien Gabel, Jérémie Rhorer and the late Alan
Curtis among others. On the recital platform, she has collaborated with
pianists Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt, Michael McMahon, Maciej
Pikulski and Roger Vignoles.

In 2015, she sang a much lauded performance of Vitellia in Mozart’s
Clemenza di Tito at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris (J. Rohrer/D.
Podalydès) and Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo (O. Dantone/R. Carsen) at the
Glyndebourne Festival. She gave a gripping performance of title role in
Gluck’s Armide (I. Bolton/B. Kosky) at the Netherlands Opera and Giunone
in Cavalli’s Calisto at the Bayerische Staatsoper.

In 2017, she again sang Vitellia at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in La
Clemenza di Tito under the baton of Teodor Currentzis and appeared as
Duchesse d’Étampes in Camille Saint-Saëns’ long-lost opera Ascanio,
conducted by Guillaume Tourniaire at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. In
2018, she performed in recital at both the Lille Opera and Wigmore Hall.
Past projects include a European tour and a recording of Ariodante (Handel)
for EMI Virgin Classics, along with a European tour and a recording of
Giulio Cesare, both with Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco. She sang in
the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian and the Symphony No. 2 (Mahler) with

the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Michael Tilson
Thomas. Karina Gauvin was Lia in Debussy’s l’Enfant prodigue with the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Mikko Frank later
released on the Erato label.
Her extensive discography – over 50 titles – has won her numerous awards,
including a “Chamber Music America Award” for her “Fête Galante” disc
with pianist Marc-André Hamelin, 3 Grammy nominations for her
recordings with the Boston Early Music Orchestra and several Opus Prizes.
Recent projects have included Merab in Handel’s Saul at the Glyndebourne
Festival Opera and Paris Théâtre du Châtelet, Giunone in Cavalli’s Calisto
at the Staatsoper München and at the Teatro Real in Madrid. She sang
Bellezza (Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno) at the Innsbruck Festival,
Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) with the Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset
at the Bucharest George Enescu Festival, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and
Ambronay Festival. She has given several concerts with Le Concert de la
Loge under Julien Chauvin at the Halle Festival and the Metz Arsenal
among others.
Among the numerous distinctions she received in her early career, Miss
Gauvin was named soloist of the year for the International French Radio
Community, won first prize for the CBC Radio Young performers
Competition, the Virginia Parker prize as well as the Maggie Teyte
Memorial Prize in London and the lieder and public’s prize at the
s’Hertogenbosch International Competition.
During the pandemic, Karina Gauvin was priviledged to participate in a
very exciting new recording project; the complete songs of late 19 th century
composer Jules Massenet, to be released in 2021. In late 2020, she was
named artist in residence for Mécénat Musica, a cultural programm by
donors for donors to make a sustainable contribution in music and the arts.