Stéphane Degout is announced as 2023/24 Master-in-Residence of the vocal section at Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. He takes the role based on the recommendation of current Master-in-Residence, José van Dam, who will step down from the role after nearly twenty wonderful years. Degout, who will work alongside Sophie Koch, has been Guest Master since the 2019/20 season, and has shared his knowledge and energy with the young Artists in residence who have been lucky enough to work with him.
Inaugurated on 12 July 1939, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel provides high-level training to an annual cohort of approximately 70 artists in residence. The program is reserved for outstanding musicians in the disciplines of piano, violin, cello, viola, chamber music and voice. At the time of its creation, the renowned critic Emile Vuillermoz described the Music Chapel as a sort of “modern Villa Medici”.
A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon and member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Lyon, Stéphane Degout quickly came to international attention in his debut as Papageno at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Since then, he has appeared on the world’s best operatic stages, notably the Opéra de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opéra Comique, Berlin Staatsoper, la Monnaie, Theater an der Wien, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Lyric Opera Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam, and Opernhaus Zurich, Tokyo and Los Angeles and toured at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and to Yokohama. His numerous festival appearances include Salzburg, Saint Denis, Glyndebourne, Edinburgh, Aix-en-Provence.
During the 2023/24 season, Stéphane returns to Grand Théâtre de Genève for Don Carlos, Opéra Comique for L’autre voyage, Opéra National du Rhin for Guercoeur and Théâtre du Capitole for Eugène Onéguine. Beyond several recitals he will take part to many concerts (Pygmalion – chœur & orchestre, Orchestre de Paris, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra y Coro Nacionales de Espane, Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Orchestre Gulbenkian).
