A mezzo between heart and reason
Reason, for Marie Gautrot, is what allows her to build a thoughtful career, where role choices are well considered and repertoire is intelligently constructed.
Heart denotes the generosity that defines both the woman and the artist—she, as a person, does not hesitate to engage in humanitarian actions, especially when it involves helping homeless young refugees; and as a singer, she invests body, voice, and soul into the roles she embodies, whether they be cornerstone works of the repertoire or rarer pieces, which she defends with equal enthusiasm.
Meet one of the most talented French mezzos of today, who will notably portray La Nonne Sanglante in Saint‑Étienne in November and Saint‑Saëns’s Dalila in Avignon in March.
Première Loge : This season appears to be particularly rich and significant for you, with two major new role debuts (both title roles): first La Nonne Sanglante in Saint‑Étienne, then Dalila in Avignon.
MG : Playing these two women is a great privilege for me—they are very different by nature: La Nonne Sanglante is a rarely performed piece (editor’s note: its only contemporary revival occurred in 2018 at the Opéra Comique), while Dalila is among the most iconic mezzo‑roles. I’m delighted to return to the opera houses of Saint‑Étienne and Avignon, where I work with great pleasure (I’ll moreover return to Saint‑Étienne next June for Otello). As for Avignon, the production will take place in the historic theatre at Place de l’Horloge (designed by Théodore Charpentier and Léon Feuchère, built in 1846–47), which reopens this season.
Première Loge : You stress the obscurity of Gounod’s opera in contrast to Dalila, a classic mezzo favorite: is the approach different when exploring uncharted repertoire versus one with well-known benchmarks?
MG : Performing an obscure score is like traveling through a country without a map—it feels adventurous, an intimate, privileged encounter with the composer. It’s exhilarating to have almost nothing but the score as a working tool : one senses a freedom, and the character is inevitably embodied in a very personal way. There may also be fewer apprehensions compared to tackling a role already defined by legendary singers. That said, past interpreters are there to help shape your own vision of the character, to find your own path among those already taken. And then ask : what can my experience, my sensitivity, my voice bring to this role ? The two roles pose very different challenges : the Nun, being the title role, is of course expected to leave a strong dramatic impact—but it’s very brief ! The challenge lies in giving the character full weight despite the brevity, and finding the right energy immediately to handle the particularly demanding tessitura. For Dalila, it’s different: once on stage, she is very present—physically and musically, she demands great stamina, with the succession of three highly anticipated arias : “Printemps qui commence,” “Amour, viens aider ma faiblesse,” and “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix.” The complexity of the role also lies in her characterization—finding the keys to portraying a woman driven by an ancestral hatred that overwhelms her, and making that suffering resonate in our contemporary world.
Première Loge : Acting seems very important to you, whether in leading roles like Edwige in Les Fées du Rhin, or secondary ones like Emilia in Otello, to which you bring unusual depth !
MG : But opera is also theatre—the embodiment of a character is as much musical as it is theatrical. I did a lot of theatre in my youth, and I was even in the improvisation troupe at the University of Rouen during my literature studies. To earn a living during my conservatoire years, I worked as an actress. I love this physical work, this process of gradually building the density of a character without duplicating what the music already expresses. I don’t exclusively enjoy drama or tragedy, even if my tessitura offers many opportunities—I also love working on comic roles. I have wonderful memories of La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, and I dream of productions with Flannan Obe… (“Flannan, if you’re listening” 😉). It’s pure joy for me to collaborate with directors with whom I share a wonderful rapport, both human and professional.
Première Loge : For example?
MG : Pierre‑Emmanuel Rousseau was a truly significant personal and professional encounter. I discovered a director who is so musical, such a hard worker—I love experimenting, exploring, building together, and seeing a production transformed, renewed. And there’s also Julien Ostini, whom I work with again for La Nonne Sanglante, and whom I adore collaborating with. He founded the Linières Festival, which brings lyric art to places where one wouldn’t expect it (in rural areas, in this case). I’ve sung Amneris, Azucena there, and I eagerly look forward to performing Nicklausse and the Muse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann next summer. I experience the same feeling with certain conductors or organizations such as the Palazzetto Bru Zane or the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles—working with them to discover new repertoire or interpretations is fascinating, and I truly enjoy the working methods of Alexandre and Benoît Dratwicki.
Première Loge : This year, with Palazzetto Bru Zane, you’ll also pay tribute to Saint‑Saëns…
MG : Yes, singing the role of Phénice in Déjanire, a tragédie lyrique premiered in Monte‑Carlo in 1911. (And I was born in Dieppe in Normandy, the city of Saint‑Saëns…). The performance will be in concert form, under the direction of Stefan Blunier, with a cast including Véronique Gens, Michele Angelini, Chantal Santon‑Jeffery, and Boris Pinkhasovich. With Palazzetto, I will also present a concert titled “Un billet pour Rome”, which should be very interesting: the program centers on cantatas from the Prix de Rome. It will take place on March 27 at the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice.
Première Loge : Is it important for you to revive rare or forgotten works?
MG : Absolutely ! Singing Amneris, Carmen or Dalila is undeniably a great joy—those scores are incredibly rich ! But our work also involves diving into composers who are little-known—or into lesser-known works by great composers… Because some major works are perhaps better understood when known in context, or alongside earlier works. But also because I believe that the singer serves the composers of the past and must represent them with fidelity, humility, and faith. We are custodians, carriers. This resonance with the past can illuminate our present.
Première loge : Your repertoire is particularly diverse: obviously 19th century, but also 20th (Ravel, Duruflé, Hindemith, Britten...), Russian repertoire, Mozart, baroque with Bach, Delalande, Monteverdi...
MG : I’m often sought after for 19th-century repertoire, which I adore, but I’m equally drawn to Gregorian chant, a passion for Bach, a Mahler lied, or Britten opera. I enjoy singing Carmen, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, or any major title in the repertoire as much as Les Fées du Rhin by Offenbach (Edwige is one of the most moving roles I’ve ever performed in my life…) or Gounod’s La Nonne Sanglante ! I cherish all the paths that music takes me down, and I remain constantly amazed and grateful for new landscapes. I began my career with lighter vocal roles—like Cherubino, Orlofsky—because entrusting young, less experienced singers with roles like Dalila or Verdi mezzos seems risky… but it’s a very good school ! In any case, I’m delighted today to enrich my repertoire with these roles of great theatrical and musical density that had long been on my dream list. I entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Dalila and Azucena in mind ; I shelved them for eighteen years, and now they’re making a comeback!
Quiz questions…
Is there a role you’d love to sing—even if it’s far from your vocal type?
MG : Don José, Scarpia… otherwise roles like Clytemnestra in Elektra, Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth, Phèdre in Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, or Kundry in Wagner’s Parsifal. In short, I love pushing limits, exploring the depths of the human soul, working on internal chaos, and uncovering the spark of light that must exist within these dark characters.
What do you love most about your profession?
MG : The sharing. First, the intimate, moving connection with a composer and a poet ; then the enriching, exciting collaboration with a conductor, director, or colleagues; and finally, the magical, indescribable communion with the audience.
What do you like least ?
MG : Not unpacking my suitcase when I return home between back-to-back productions, and not being with my children all the time—though I’m very often on Skype with them.
What might you have done if you hadn't become a singer ?
MG : Indiana Jones 😊… Joking aside, I studied at the École du Louvre, specializing in Egyptian antiquities—so : archaeologist.
A book or film you particularly appreciate ?
MG : So many works come to mind—it must be because you’re sitting in front of me—but I’m thinking of The Hare of Patagonia by Lanzmann, a book that truly speaks to me, a thousand lives in one, with struggles, encounters, a passion for life, a memoir that’s indescribable in magnificent prose. And also A Life Transformed by Etty Hillesum, which I’m rereading—a simple yet dazzlingly powerful writing.
Favorite activity when not singing ?
MG : I’m passionate about high‑mountain hiking—I regularly trek in the Himalayas. I’m going back to Nepal in April for a 5,500 m peak—shall I take you with me?
Is there a cause particularly close to your heart ?
MG : Many causes ! I’m a perpetual rebel… Protecting children is a very sensitive cause for me—I founded an association with four friends in Dieppe : Le Phare 111, which shelters and supports unaccompanied minor refugees arriving in France.To conclude, I share a line from Michael Lonsdale, with whom I had wonderful musical moments: “It is the love we bear each other that is our Beauty and that will save the world.”
Interview conducted by Stéphane Lelièvre in September 2020.