Echoing the study day devoted to Anne de La Barre, one of the first internationally renowned singers, the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles is organising two masterclasses led by leading specialists in the 17th century vocal repertoire. This is an opportunity to understand how Italian practices influenced and shaped the distinctive French vocal style of musical tragedies.
Anne de La Barre (1628–1688), daughter of King Louis XIII's organist, singer, lutenist, harpsichordist and dancer, is considered the most important French singer before the era of musical tragedies, having enjoyed an international reputation. This study day is an opportunity to explore the French repertoire of the first half of the 17th century through this unique personality. A privileged time for teaching and exchange, the masterclasses are not only an opportunity to benefit from individualised teaching by one of the two leading specialists in this repertoire, but also to benefit from the resources of the CMBV and to focus on a repertoire that is still little known but has immense dramaturgical potential.
Objectives
- Deepen your mastery of 17th century arias by analysing and exploring the stylistic subtleties specific to this period.
- Perfect your interpretation of arias from this repertoire by closely examining the instructions given by singers of the period in order to better understand their essence and particularities.
- Examine and experiment with musical practices related to the declamation and theatricality of this repertoire, in light of the advice and personal approach of Hasnaa Bennani and Lisandro Abadie.
Featuring
Hasnaa Bennani, opera singer (soprano)
Lisandro Abadie, opera singer (bass-baritone)
Barbara Nestola, research director (CESR - CMBV)
Thomas Leconte, researcher and editorial manager (CMBV - CESR)
Benoît Dratwicki, researcher and artistic director (CMBV - CESR)
Hasnaa Bennani, opera singer (soprano)
Hasnaa Bennani, a French-Moroccan soprano and graduate of the Paris Conservatoire, won first prize at the Froville Baroque Singing Competition in 2011. She has collaborated with numerous prestigious ensembles such as La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy, Le Poème Harmonique, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Concert Spirituel, Les Ambassadeurs, Akadêmia, Accademia Bizantina, La Chapelle Rhénane, Le Caravansérail, as well as internationally with Les Muffatti, Capella Cracoviensis, Hassler Consort, Orfeo Orchestra and Armonia Atenea. On stage, she has played Amour (Zaïs), Corisande (Amadis), Berenice (Scipione), Cecina (Germanico in Germania), Gildippe (Carlo il Calvo) and Ismène (Telemann's Orpheus), performing in theatres such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Capitole de Toulouse, the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and the Drottningholms Slottsteater. Her discography includes recordings for Alpha, Aparté, Glossa, Château de Versailles, Decca and Ramée, ranging from the French Baroque repertoire to Handel arias. Her recent projects include Scylla et Glaucus (Leclair), Télémaque (Destouches) and Castor et Pollux (Rameau). Holder of the Certificat d'Aptitude, she has been teaching at the CRR in Créteil since 2019, imparting a historically informed approach to Baroque singing and ornamentation, and regularly gives masterclasses.
Lisandro Abadie, opera singer (bass-baritone)
Born in Buenos Aires, Lisandro Abadie began his vocal studies there before continuing at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel) and the Lucerne University of Music. He won the Edwin Fischer Prize in 2006. He has sung under the baton of William Christie, Laurence Cummings, Francesco Corti, Václav Luks, Tōnu Kaljuste, Rubén Dubrovsky, Andreas Reize, Jordi Savall, Paul Agnew, Fabio Bonizzoni, Skip Sempé, Vincent Dumestre, Hervé Niquet and Geoffroy Jourdain. In the field of opera, his repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to contemporary works, including Handel and Viktor Ullmann. In 2010, he created the title role in Oscar Strasnoy's Cachafaz, directed by Benjamin Lazar. His recent stage productions include Telemann's Orpheus, Handel's Rinaldo, Rameau's Les Fêtes d'Hébé and Charpentier's Médée. He researches and publishes on the history of singing and vocal techniques. He is also very active as a teacher, notably at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
Barbara Nestola, research director (CESR - CMBV)
Barbara Nestola is a musicologist and theatre historian with HDR status. Since 2019, she has been head of research at the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. Her work focuses on musical transfers between Italy and France, Italian and French opera practices, and issues of circulation and transversality in theatre in France under the Ancien Régime. Together with Emanuele De Luca (Université Côte d'Azur), she co-directed the research projects ThéPARis (2019-2022) and ThéPARis-France (2023-2024), with the participation of Bénédicte Louvat (Sorbonne University). A specialist in the declamation of sung Italian, she leads masterclasses in singing and is involved in opera productions. She regularly collaborates as a scientific advisor with professional performers in concerts, recitals, opera productions and audiovisual recordings.
Thomas Leconte, researcher and editorial manager (CESR - CMBV)
Thomas Leconte is a researcher at the Research Centre of the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, where he is also editorial manager of heritage collections. His research focuses mainly on social, religious and court music of the Grand Siècle (functions, repertoires, musical practices, identities). In addition, his historical, theoretical and practical knowledge of 17th and 18th century orchestral and choral writing frequently leads him to reconstruct the missing parts of works in the repertoire. He is currently working on a project (research, reconstruction, edition) on Lalande's Symphonies pour les Soupers du roi. He regularly collaborates with professional ensembles as a scientific advisor (concerts, recordings).
Benoît Dratwicki, researcher and artistic director (CESR - CMBV)
Benoît Dratwicki first obtained degrees in cello, chamber music and music education, before turning his attention to music history, analysis and aesthetics, earning various distinctions at the conservatories of Metz and Paris, before joining the aesthetics and music culture classes at the CNSMD in Paris. During the 2006-2007 season, he produced the programmes ‘La Querelle des Bouffons’ and ‘Sortez les jumelles’ with his brother Alexandre on France Musique. He is a researcher and artistic director at the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, where he has worked since 2001, and artistic director of the Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice – Centre de musique romantique française since 2007. A specialist in court music and French opera between 1670 and 1800 (and more particularly in the singers of the Académie royale de musique, historically informed performance, the evolution of styles and lyrical genres, and the reworking of works), he is the author of several research papers on these subjects and defended a thesis on François Colin de Blamont (1690-1760) at the Sorbonne. In 2023, he will defend his habilitation thesis at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, entitled The Paris Opera and its singers (1669-1791): context and sources as keys to interpretation.
Training arrangements
- In-person workshop only
- Workshop conducted in French (discussions possible in English)
- Assessment methods: self-assessment and individualised final assessments by trainers
- Alternating between individual work sessions between trainees and trainers and group debriefings
Programme
Opportunity to participate in the Study Day on Monday, 1 December 2025
Musée du Grand Siècle, Saint-Cloud
- Conferences, round tables, discussions
Tuesday, 2 December 2025 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs, Versailles
- 6 hours of master classes, individual lessons lasting one hour per participant
- Each teacher will give their lessons in a room with a harpsichord accompanist
- Opportunity to attend lessons in each of the rooms
Participants
- Singers
Maximum 12 participants.
It is preferable to be proficient in reading ancient and modern clefs.
Open to the public subject to availability.
Prerequisites
- Working professionals
- Future professionals in training - currently enrolled in higher education (bachelor's, master's) or equivalent
Repertoire studied
- The repertoire to be prepared will mainly consist of French music from 1600 to 1670
- Trainees may make suggestions when registering
- Discussions with trainers prior to the workshop will help clarify which documents need to be prepared
Pricing conditions
Prices for a 1-day workshop (online payment via a payment link sent upon acceptance of the application):
Full price covered: depending on coverage (contact the training centre administration for a quote)
Maximum individual contribution: €150 including VAT
Maximum individual contribution for students (up to 26 years old): €90 including VAT
For permanent or temporary employees, CMBV workshops may be covered under continuing professional development programmes (Afdas, employers, etc.).
Services included in the price:
- Access to CMBV premises (instrument tuning if necessary)
- All teaching costs (instructors, instruments, etc.) for the duration of the course
- Active participation in workshops
- Provision of documents and sheet music
- Loan of instruments, or access to instruments, if necessary
The following remain the responsibility of the trainees:
- Travel expenses
- Accommodation expenses (meals and lodging)
Registration
Selection based on application and video recording (mandatory): one French Baroque aria and one Baroque aria in another language.
The application must include a CV and cover letter. You will receive confirmation of receipt of your registration and, if applicable, acceptance of your application no later than two months before the training date.
Accessibility
The classrooms and teaching spaces are accessible to people with reduced mobility. For any disability requiring adaptation of the teaching, please specify this when registering: this information will be forwarded to the CMBV disability officer, who will contact you if necessary.
Registration deadline: 17 October 2025
