Bernard Deletré

Biography

Bernard Deletré is a French operatic bass-baritone.

Life

After studying flute and singing in the North of France, followed by a first prize in singing at the Conservatoire de Paris, Deletré performed with the Groupe Vocal de France before embarking on a career as a soloist. He also performs contemporary music, with the Atelier Lyrique du Rhin or the Péniche Opéra.
He has sung Monteverdi, Purcell, Cesti, Cavalli, Lully, Charpentier, Rameau, Handel or Mozart, and also Verdi, Bellini, Massenet, Offenbach, Janáček. Deletré has performed in the United States and Canada (Glimmerglass Festival, Berkeley Festival, New York City Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Lafayette Washington DC, Florence Gould Hall of New-York, Festival de Musique ancienne de Montréal), and also collaborates with the Dutch national company Reisopera and the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Deletré worked extensively in the 1980s and 1990s with the ensemble of Baroque music Les Arts Florissants, led by William Christie.
He has participated in more than forty radio and CD recordings for Erato, EMI France, Adda, Opus 111, Naxos, Harmonia Mundi labels ...
He sings in both in the field of Baroque music and in the traditional opera repertoire: Giorgio in Bellini's I puritani in Nantes, Schlemil in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann (Oeser version) in Geneva directed by Olivier Py, Dikoï in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová in Geneva, Bartolo in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in Tourcoing and Orléans, the priest in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen in Geneva, Arkel in Pelléas and Mélisande on tour in the Netherlands. In 2005, he wrote, directed, conducted and performed the show La Fontaine Incognito to music by Isabelle Aboulker for the Grand Théâtre de Limoges.
He was heard in Massenet's Hérodiade (Phanuel) and Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles (Nourabad) at the Dorset Opera Festival, Massenet's Manon (comte des Grieux) on tour in the Netherlands, Cherubini's Médée (Creon) on tour in the Netherlands, Massenet's Don Quichotte (title role) and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (Frère Laurent) in Limoges, Stravinsky's Pulcinella with the Orchestre national de Lille, a revival of The Tales of Hoffmann in Geneva, La Veuve et le Grillon, a work by Daniel Soulier, The Love for Three Oranges in Dijon and Limoges, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in Tourcoing and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Busoni's Turandot Dijon, revival of Lully's Atys in Paris, Caen, Bordeaux, Versailles and New-York, Janáček's Jenůfa in Rennes and Limoges.
Among other projects, Deletré continues his collaboration with the American company Opera Lafayette: in the staging (and interpretation of the character of Baskir) for Félicien David's opera Lalla-Roukh in Washington and New York in January 2013, in the role of Don Alfonso in Cosi fan Tutte in October 2013 (reprise at the Château de Versailles on 30 January, 2 and 3 February 2014).

Operas

2013: Lalla Roukh by Félicien David (Baskir)- Dir. Ryan Brown – Naxos
2007: Ulysse by Jean-Féry Rebel (Urilas) - Dir. Reyne - AC Production
2005: Isis by Lully (Jupiter) - Dir. Reyne - AC Production
2004: Orfeo by Monteverdi (Plutone) - Dir. Malgoire - Dynamic
2003: Agrippina by Haendel (Pallante) - Dir. Malgoire - Dynamic
1997: La Dame blanche by Boëldieu (Mac Irton) - Dir. Minkowski - EMI
1996: Calisto by Cavalli (Giove) - Dir. J.Glover - (live) BBC World
1995: Médée by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Créon) - Dir. Christie - Erato
1993: Armide by Lully (Hidraot, Ubalde) - Dir. Herreweghe - Harm.M.
1992: Idoménée by André Campra (title role) Dir. Christie - Har.M.
1992: Le Baigneur by Denis Levaillant (title role) - Thésis
1991: Les Indes galantes by Rameau (Huascar, Alvar) - Dir. Christie Har.M.
1991: Orfeo by Rossi (Augure, Pluton) - Dir. Christie - Har.M
1990: Alcyone by Marin Marais (solos divers) - Dir. Minkowski - Erato
1990: Iphigénie en Aulide by Glück (Patrocle) - Dir. Gardiner - Erato
1989: Le Malade imaginaire Molière/Charpentier - Dir. Minkowski - Erato
1989: Platée by Jean-Philippe Rameau (Momus, Cithéron) - Dir. Minkowski - Erato
1989: The Fairy-Queen by Henry Purcell (Drunken poet, Corydon, Hymen) - Dir. Christie Har.M.
1988: David et Jonathas by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Vx de Samuel, Achis) - Dir. Christie - Har.M.
1988: Giasone by Cavalli (Oreste) - Dir. R. Jacobs - Har.M.
1987: Comédie-ballets by Lully (various) Minkowski - Erato
1987: Atys by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Le Temps, Phobétor, Sangar) - Dir. Christie - Harmonia Mundi

Oratorios - various

1990 :
2005: L'Homme et son désir by Darius Milhaud - Orch. Nal de Lille - Dir. Jean-Claude Casadesus - Naxos
1996: La Fontaine-un portrait musical - Dir. Hugo Reyne - EMI
1996: Motets by Jean-Baptiste Lully (solo bass) - Dir. Niquet
1995: Messe du couronnement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (solo bass) - Dir. Patrick Marco - Verany
1995: Thétis secular cantata by Jean-Philippe Rameau (solo bass) - Dir. Coin
1995: Motets by Pierre Robert (solo bass) - Dir. Schneebeli
1993: Salve Regina by Haydn (solo bass) - Dir. Gester - Opus 111
1992: Motets by Sébastien de Brossard (solo bass) - Dir. Gester - Opus 111
1991: Motets by Michel-Richard de Lalande (solo bass) - Dir. Colléaux - Erato
1990: Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Les Quatre Saisons H.335 - 338, Psaumes de David H.174, H.231, H.179, Le Parlement de Musique, clavecin, orgue et direction Martin Gester. CD Opus 111.
1990: "Motets" de Marc-Antoine Charpentier (solo bass) - Dir. Olivier Schneebeli - Adda
1989: Messe by de la Rue (ens.Cl.Janequin) - Har.M.
1989: Te Deum H.146 by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (solo bass) - Dir. Christie - Har.M.
1989 : Psaumes by Camille Saint-Saëns (solo bass) - Dir. Mercier - Adda
1983 : Antifonia by Scelsi (Groupe Vocal de France) - Dir. Tranchant

Videos, radio and television

DVDs:
Agrippine by Haendel - Dir. Malgoire - 2004
Orfeo by Monteverdi - Dir Malgoire – 2006
Turandot by Busoni – Dir Kawka – 2011
Atys by Lully – Dir. Christie - 2011
Radio :
L'homme qui avait... by Edith Lejet (Radio France)
Scherzo by Bruno Gillet (Radio France)
Barca di Venetia by Banchieri (Radio France/Péniche-opéra)
O comme eau by Claude Prey (Radio France/Péniche-opéra)
L'Arrache-Cœur by Elisabeth Sikora (Radio France)
Les Chambres de Cristal by Reibel (Radio France/Péniche-
Television:
Le Malade Imaginaire Molière/Charpentier - La sept -
Fairy Queen by Purcell - La Sept -
Giasone by Cavalli - Télévision autrichienne -
Atys de Lully - La Sept -

Stagings

1986 – Le Cirque volant by Jean Absil - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais
1997 - Le joueur de flûte by Günther Kretzschmar - translation of the booklet, adaptation, staging - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais
1998 - Le Paradis des chats by Vladimir Kojoukharov - adaptation, staging - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais
2002 - La Querelle des muses by Alexandros Markeas - Script, libretto, staging - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais
2005 - Atchafalaya by Isabelle Aboulker - staging - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais, Montréal (Canada)
2005 - La Fontaine et le Corbeau by Isabelle Aboulker - Adaptation, staging - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais, Dijon
2005 - La Fontaine incognito to a music by Isabelle Aboulker - Script, libretto, staging – Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges
2007 - Les enfants du Levant by Isabelle Aboulker - Adaptation, staging - Région Nord/Pas-de-Calais
2011 – Appointed director of the Atelier lyrique du conservatoire d'Hellemmes-Lille
2012 - Autour de Beaumarchais to musics by Mozart and Rossini and texts by Beaumarchais - script, staging – Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes
2013 - Lalla-Roukh by Félicien David - Adaptation, staging - With the American company "Opera Lafayette" - Washington, New-York
2013 - Lalla-Roukh by Félicien David - Adaptation, staging - Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes
2014 - Le Médecin malgré lui by Molière/Gounod - Adaptation, staging - Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes
2015 - L'Etoile by Emmanuel Chabrier - Adaptation, staging - Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes
2016 - La Fille de Madame Angot by Charles Lecocq - Adaptation, staging - Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes
2016 - Une éducation manquée by Emmanuel Chabrier - Adaptation, staging - With the American company "Opera Lafayette" - Washington, New-York
2017 - La Flûte enchantée by Mozart - Adaptation, staging - Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes.
2018 (project) - Véronique by André Messager - Adaptation, staging - Atelier lyrique d'Hellemmes.