Biographies

Friends and colleagues for over 25 years, Ellen Hargis and Paul O'Dette bring an incomparable spirit of drama, vivid musical imagination and fun to their voice and lute collaborations.  Each performer is a virtuoso in his respective field. The artists' mutual commitment to performance practice, avid interest in the undiscovered, and natural ability to communicate the essence of this intimate repertoire make their concerts uniquely memorable. The duo has toured around the globe, performing to rave reviews in Japan, Russia, Spain, France, Austria, England, Canada, and across the US. The Hargis / O'Dette Duo has two recordings on the Noyse Productions label, in addition to dozens of collaborations on recordings with leading U.S. and European early music ensembles. The duo is featured as the Dowland example (Flow my tears) and the Caccini example in the new Norton Anthology.

Soprano Ellen Hargis is one of America’s premier early music singers, specializing in repertoire ranging from ballads to opera and oratorio.  She appears with many renowned conductors,  including Andrew Parrott, Gustav Leonhardt, Paul Goodwin, Jane Glover, and Simon Preston. She has performed with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Tragicomedia, The Mozartean Players, and Fretwork.  She has performed at many of the world's leading festivals including the Adelaide Festival (Australia), St. Petersburg Early Music  Festival (Russia), Utrecht Festival (Holland), Resonanzen Festival (Vienna), Tanglewood, and the Berkeley and Boston Early Music Festivals.  With duo partner lutenist Paul O’Dette, she has performed extensively in Europe and North America, including recent tours  of both Russia and Japan.  Her discography of more than 50 recordings embraces repertoire from medieval to contemporary music, and features two recital CDs with O’Dette on Noyse Productions.  She is featured on a dozen Harmonia Mundi recordings including a critically acclaimed solo recital disc of music by Jacopo Peri, and Arvo Pärt's Berlin Mass with Theatre of Voices.  She has recorded the leading role of Aeglé in Lully’s Thésée  with the BEMF Orchestra and Chorus as well as the premier recording of Conradi’s opera Ariadne, both Grammy Nominees for Best Opera Recording.  Ellen makes her home in Chicago, where she is in Residence with the Newberry Consort at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.  She teaches voice for the Historical Performance Department at Case Western Reserve University,  and teaches numerous summer courses in early music, including the Longy International Baroque Institute in Cambridge, The Lute Society of America Seminars and the Vancouver Baroque Vocal Programme.

PAUL O’DETTE has been called “the clearest case of genius ever to touch his instrument” (Toronto Globe and Mail). His performances at major international festivals in London, Paris, Montpellier, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Bruges, Antwerp, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Innsbruck, Prague, Bremen, Dresden, Milan, Florence, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona, Tenerife, Copenhagen, Oslo, Cordoba, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Boston, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Berkeley, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Tokyo, etc., have often been singled out as the highlight of those events. Though best known for his recitals and recordings of virtuoso solo lute music, Paul O’Dette maintains an active international career as an ensemble musician as well, performing with many of the leading early music soloists and ensembles. He is a member of the acclaimed continuo ensemble Tragicomedia. Paul O’Dette has made more than 120 recordings, many of which have been nominated for Gramophone’s “Record of the Year” Award. The Bachelar’s Delight: Lute Music of Daniel Bacheler was nominated for a Grammy as “Best Solo Instrumental Recording in 2007.” The Complete Lute Music of John Dowland, a five-cd set for harmonia mundi, was awarded the prestigious Diapason D’or de l’année, while The Royal Lewters has received the Diapason D’or, a Choc du Monde de la Musique, a 5-star rating in BBC Music Magazine, 5-star rating in Goldberg, and a perfect score of 10 from ClassicsToday.com. In addition to an active recording career, Mr. O’Dette performs for television and radio networks all over the world. Mr. O’Dette is also active conducting Baroque opera. In 1997 he led performances of Luigi Rossi’s L’Orfeo at Tanglewood, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Drottningholm Court Theatre in Sweden with Stephen Stubbs. They have also co-directed performances of Cavalli’s Ercole Amante at the Boston Early Music Festival, Tanglewood, and the Utrecht Early Music Festival; Provenzale’s La Stellidaura Vendicata at the Vadstena Academy in Sweden; Monteverdi’s Orfeo and L’Incoronazione di Poppea for Festival Vancouver; Lully’s Thésée, Conradi’s Ariadne (Hamburg, 1691) and Mattheson’s Boris Goudenow for the Boston Early Music Festival and Tanglewood. Their CPO recording of Conradi’s Ariadne was nominated for a Grammy as best opera recording in 2006. Paul O’Dette has guest conducted Baroque orchestras throughout Europe, America, and Canada. In addition to his activities as a performer, Paul O’Dette is an avid researcher, having worked extensively on the performance and sources of seventeenth-century Italian and English solo song, continuo practices and lute technique, the latter resulting in a forthcoming book co-authored by Patrick O’Brien. He has published numerous articles on issues of historical performance practice, and co-authored the John Dowland entry in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Paul O’Dette is Professor of Lute and Director of Early Music at the Eastman School of Music, and Artistic Co-Director of the Boston Early Music Festival.

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