North American Debuts
October 9 2024
Antonin Rondepierre and Blaise Rantoanina Join Opera Atelier’s 2024/25 Season in their North American Debuts
It gives Jeannette and me great pleasure to introduce two marvelous young French tenors who will be making their North American debuts in Opera Atelier’s upcoming 2024/25 season. Having worked closely with tenor Antonin Rondepierre and tenor Blaise Rantoanina at Château de Versailles Spectacles and Opéra de Tours, we are delighted to now have them make their Opera Atelier debuts.
Antonin and Blaise are stage animals to the core of their beings, and we look forward to their adding their tremendous sense of drama, humour and vitality to Opera Atelier’s productions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Charpentier’s David and Jonathan.
A little about Antonin and Blaise:
Antonin Rondepierre
In 2022, Antonin worked with OA’s Co-Artistic Directors for the first time when he sang the role of Joabel in the Versailles production of Charpentier’s David and Jonathan. His performance of this demanding role garnered international attention:
“The physical muscularity of tenor Antonin Rondepierre suits Joabel’s rage and grounds his voice in a certain strength to express his spite and desire for vengeance.” – Olyrix
“The whirling Joabel of tenor Antonin Rondepierre has a superb stage presence. His beautiful, clear voice does the rest.” -Resmusica
Praised for his ‘musical intelligence’, ‘delicate, poetic phrasing’ and ‘full, round timbre’ (Classical Concert, Forum Opéra), Antonin is a rising star of the early music scene. A recent graduate of the Centre de Music Baroque Versailles, his talent was recognised early in his career by conductors such as Olivier Schneebeli, Sebastien Daucé, Raphaël Pichon, Gaetan Jarry and Hervé Niquet. Antonin regularly performs as a soloist with period ensembles such as Pygmalion, Les Talens Lyriques, and Marguerite Louise. In 2022, he was awarded two prizes at the Concours international de la Mélodie in Gordes. During the 2023/24 season, he took part in the Young Artists Programme of the Académie Jaroussky. He was a finalist in the 2023 Cesti Competition, where he won an engagement prize from the Festival della Valle d’Itria.
This season, we are delighted to have Antonin make his North American debut in Opera Atelier’s upcoming productions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea (in the role of Acis) and Charpentier’s David and Jonathan (in the role of Joabel). He will then reprise his role in David and Jonathan when we return to Versailles to remount the production in the Royal Chapel.
Blaise Rantoanina
In 2022, Blaise worked with OA’s Co-Artistic Directors for the first time when he sang the lead role of the French prince Saint-Phar in a new Grétry production—co-produced between Opéra de Tours and the Royal Opera House, Versailles.
His role debut as Saint-Phar was extremely well received, and Opera Atelier’s Co-Artistic Directors immediately engaged Blaise to sing the role of Damon for OA’s upcoming production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea. This will be Blaise’s Canadian début and his role début in Handel’s ravishing pastorale. He will return to Opera Atelier in 2026 in an important role TBA.
In 2016, Mr. Rantaonina was selected as the classic revelation of ADAMI, a very prestigious French national award, and the following year sang the part of Paolino (Il Matrimonio segreto) in a co-production between the CNSMDP and the Philharmonie de Paris.
He has recently sung the roles of Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) at Clermont-Ferrand Opera,which toured to Avignon, Rouen, Massy and Reims Operas. After joining the Ensemble of the Trier Opera; Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni); Fenton (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor); the Brazilian (La Vie Parisienne); Piquillo (La Périchole) and the Italian Singer (Der Rosenkavalier).
Last season, he sang Nerone (L’Incoronazione di Poppea) and the Young Man (Reigen) in Trier, as well as Joe (Blue Monday by Gershwin) with the Picardy Orchestra in France.