Source: askonasholt.com
French counter-tenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian is one of the most exciting young vocal talents of our time. Formerly a HSBC Révélation award-winner at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, he is a graduate of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and Conservatoire de Paris.
Highlights of the 2024/25 season include performances of Polifemo as Ulisse at Opéra de Lille Château de Versailles and Endiminone in La Calisto at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. On the concert platform, Paul-Antoine will sing the title role in a tour of Tamerlano under the baton of René Jacobs with the Freiburger Barockorchester, Trasemede Merope at the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, along with performances with Le Poème Harmonique and Café Zimmermann.
The 2023/24 season saw Paul-Antoine sing the roles of Ottone L’incoronazione di Poppea at Opéra de Rennes and Oper Köln, and Ulisse Polifemo at Opéra national du Rhin under the baton of Emmanuelle Haïm. He performed a Vivaldi recital with Café Zimmermann, the title role in Scarlatti’s Il Mitridate Eupatore at the Het Concertgebouw, Handel’s Messiah with Accentus and Laurence Equilbey with performances at La Seine Musicale, Opéra national du Capitole de Toulouse and Palau de la Música; a Bach recital at Bozar Brussels; and St Matthew Passion at Opéra de Rennes.
Previous highlights include Oberon A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opéra de Rouen; Athamas Semele at Opéra de Lille with Emmanuelle Haim; the title role of Giulio Cesare at the Festival International de Beaune; Alessandro Tolomeo with Il Pomo d’Oro; Farnace Mitridate at Staatsoper Berlin and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Valencia; Marte La Divisione del mondo at Opéra Royal de Versailles; Unulfo Rodelinda at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Le Concert d’Astrée/Emmanuelle Haïm; the title role in Rinaldo at Opéra de Rennes; La Voce di Deo in Scarlatti’s Il Primo Omicido with Philippe Jaroussky in Salzburg; concerts and a recording of Purcell’s Odes (with Le Banquet Céleste), and his debut appearance with the prestigious Comédie-Française in Paris in La nuit des rois.
More recently, he made his Moscow debut with the Bolshoi Theatre as Polinesso Ariodante, and sang Didymus Theodora with Il Pomo d’Oro, alongside Joyce DiDonato, Lisette Oropesa and Michael Spyres at Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and La Scala, Milan, with a live recording to follow.
