Person · Female
Natalie Dessay
soprano
- From
- Lyon, France
- Since
- 1965–present
- Rating
- ★ 5
- Releases
- 45
- classical
About
Natalie Dessay (French: [natali dəsɛ] ; born 19 April 1965) is a French soprano, best known as an opera singer before her retirement from the opera stage in 2013. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, such as the Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.
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Since her earlier career she had been known in coloratura soprano roles in the German and French repertoire, such as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann, the title role in Lakmé, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. After two vocal surgeries she turned her focus to heavier bel canto roles, such as Amina in La sonnambula, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Marie in La fille du régiment, Violetta in La traviata, and further explored Baroque music with her collaborations with Emmanuelle Haïm. Since retiring from opera stage, she has pursued a career in theatre and in concert, where she now performs, besides classical, genres such as jazz and chansons.
She made dozens of recordings for the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics label, and then for Erato Records/Warner Classics. Since 2016, she has been recording for Sony Classical Records.
Member of
Discography
Albums
-
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
-
Airs d’opéras francais
-
Die Zauberflöte
-
Vocalises
-
Lakmé
-
Mitridate
-
Le Rossignol
-
Mozart - Héroïnes
-
Orphée aux enfers
-
Lucie de Lammermoor
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Airs d'opéras français
-
Delirio
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Concert Arias
-
Mass in C
-
Symphony no. 2 “Resurrection”
-
Lucia di Lammermoor
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Cleopatra: Arias from Giulio Cesare
-
Ein deutsches Requiem
-
Lakmé : Highlights
-
Clair de lune
-
Entre elle et lui
-
Rio - Paris
-
Fiançailles pour rire Apple Music
-
Baroque
-
Pictures of America Apple Music
-
Lieder
-
Between Yesterday and Tomorrow (The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Woman)
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Natalie Dessay chante Nougaro
-
The Proust Album
-
Natalie Dessay à l'opéra Apple Music
-
Mozart à l’opéra
-
Pannonica
-
Oiseaux de passage
Compilations
Links
Listen
Official
Concerts
Married
Parent
Also known as
Nathalie Dessay · ナタリー・デセイ
Tags
- french soprano
- soprano
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 5ea647a7-554d-47c1-af80-5577a02be4fb
- ISNI
- 0000000110736669
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 14 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.