HIS OPERA DEBUT!

For Jean-Yves the 1995-96 opera season was a dream come true. He debuted at the MET!

Yes, in a real opera on the stage of the great opera house. He played the non-singing role of the Chopinesque pianist-spy, Lazinski, in Umberto Giordano’s Fedora. He is a long-time fan of Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo, and being on stage with them was an absolute thrill. The MET must have been as thrilled to have had a real-life dashing pianist play the role of a dashing pianist.

Playing the Chopin-like nocturne was easy, it was the acting that somewhat fazed him. But he pulled it off quite nicely - after all, with his elegant bearing and his Lisztian lock of flaxen hair, he did look the part.

He is shown above with soprano Ainhoa Arteta in the scene where he dazzles the guests as a bon vivant beau and piano player, and at left, backstage after an evening’s performance with the great Mirella Freni who sang the title role and whom Jean-Yves met on the set for the first time.

And so Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s love affair with opera continues and it will go on for as long as he believes the voice is the most beautiful musical instrument and his role as an artist is to make the piano sing.

Read about his recording ofopera transcriptions.