# Delphine Galou

Delphine Galou (born 1977) is a French contralto. Her vocal style allows her to perform the most virtuoso roles of the baroque repertoire.

## Early life and education

Galou was born in Paris in 1977.
She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne while also studying piano and voice.
She was the "Discovery of the Year" of the French Association for the Promotion of Young Artists in 2004.

## Career

Galou started her career in 2000 as a member of the ensemble of the "Jeunes Voix du Rhin", and performed at the Opéra national du Rhin in roles such as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia, and Mercedes in Carmen, and she was subsequently a guest in Rennes, Dijon, Caen, Angers-Nantes, Toulon, Nancy, Luxemburg, Freiburg, Basel, St Gallen, at the Händel Festival in Karlsruhe, and at the Schwetzingen Festival.
Galou has established herself internationally as a George Frideric Händel specialist, with parts such as Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo, Alessandro, Andronico (Tamerlano), Zenobia (Radamisto), and Bradamante (Alcina). In 2011–2012, she made her sensational debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in the title role of Orlando furioso by Antonio Vivaldi. She also debuted at the Royal Opera House of London (Niobe by Steffani) and performed the title role in The Rape of Lucretia at the Angers-Nantes Opera. Her 2011–2012 season was highlighted by Handel's Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno at the Berlin State Opera under the baton of Marc Minkowski, Alcina (Bradamante) at the Lausanne Opera under the baton of Ottavio Dantone, and Rinaldo (title role) in Reggio Emilia and Ferrara. Upcoming plans include Il ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria (Penelope) by Monteverdi at the Theater an der Wien under the baton of Christophe Rousset, and Tamerlano (Andronico) at the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.
Galou has collaborated with orchestras such as the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble (Thomas Hengelbrock), I Barocchisti (Diego Fasolis), Accademia Bizantina (Ottavio Dantone), Collegium 1704 (Václav Luks), Venice Baroque Orchestra (Andrea Marcon), Il Complesso Barocco (Alan Curtis), Les Siècles (François-Xavier Roth), Les Arts Florissants (Jonathan Cohen), Le Concert des Nations (Jordi Savall), Ensemble Matheus (Jean-Christophe Spinosi) and Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble (Marc Minkowski).

## Regular guest soloist positions

As a concert soloist, Galou is, among others, a regular guest of the Beaune Baroque Festival, where she was acclaimed in Rinaldo and Alessandro by Händel, Semiramide by Nicola Porpora, and Juditha triumphans and Orlando furioso by Vivaldi.

## Recordings

Galou has also taken part in the CD recording of Porpora's Vespro per la Festività dell'Assunta under the baton of Martin Gester (live recording - Ambronay Editions. Released in 2011), Vivaldi's Teuzzone under the baton of Jordi Savall (2012 - Naïve Records) and Vivaldi's Orlando furioso under the baton of Federico Maria Sardelli (2012 - Naïve Records). A YouTube video featuring Galou's performance of "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" from Bach's Matthäuspassion had, as of August 2024, received more than 7 million views.

## Solo recitals

* Agitata, Accademia Bizantina, 2017, Ottavio Dantone, Alpha.

## Roles

This is a partial list of roles based on information from the artist's website.
| Date | Composer | Work | Role | House | Conductor | Director | Remarks |
| Mar 2006 | Ravel | L'enfant et les sortilèges | Multiple Roles | Theatre Graslin Nantes and the Grand Theatre Angers | | | |
| Apr 2007 | Vivaldi | Giustino | Eufemia | Schwetzingen Festival, Germany | | | |
| Apr 2008 | Händel | Giulio Cesare | Julius Caesar | Théâtre de Caen, France | | | |
| Jan 2008 | Haydn | Il mondo della luna | Ernesto | Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg | | | |
| Jun 2008 | Benjamin Britten | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | Opéra National de Lorraine, Nancy | | | |
| Apr 2008 | Agostino Steffani | Niobe, regina di Tebe | Nerea | Schwetzingen Festival,Germany | Thomas Hengelbrock | | |
| Feb 2009 | Händel | Radamisto | Zenobia | Baden State Theatre, Karlsruhe | Peter Van Heyghen | | |
| Jun 2009 | Vivaldi | Orlando Furioso | Orlando | Theater Basel | Andrea Marcon | | |
| Jan 2011 | Benjamin Britten | The Rape of Lucretia | Lucretia | Nantes / Theatre Graslin and the Angers / Grand Theatre | | | |
| Jul 2011 | Vivaldi | Juditha triumphans | (Soloist) | Beaune Baroque Festival | Federico Maria Sardelli | | Concert Performance. |
| Apr 2012 | Händel | Rinaldo | Rinaldo | Teatro Municipale Valli, Italy | Ottavio Dantone | | |
| Sep 2012 | Monteverdi | Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria | Penelope | Theater an der Wien | Christophe Rousset | | |
| Oct 2012 | Vivaldi | Tito Manlio | | Kraków Opera House | Ottavio Dantone | | Concert performance |
| April 2012 | Händel | Juditha Triumphans | Holofernes | Misteria paschalia festival, Kraków | Ottavio Dantone | | |
| Jan 2012 | Händel | Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno | Disinganno | Staatsoper im Schiller Theater, Berlin | Marc Minkowski | | |
| Jun 2013 | Vivaldi | Juditha triumphans | (Soloist) | St. Reinoldi, Dortmund | Christophe Rousset | | Concert Performance |
| May 2013 | Vivaldi | Farnace | Berenice | Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence | | | |
| Sep 2013 | Gluck | Orfeo ed Euridice | Orfeo | Opéra national de Montpellier | Balázs Kocsár | | |
| Oct 2013 | Händel | Aci, Galatea e Polifemo | Galatea | Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna | Emmanuelle Haim | | |
| Jun 2014 | Händel | Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno | Disinganno | The Berlin Staatsoper | Sébastien Rouland | Jürgen Flimm | |
| Jan 2015 | Händel | Tamerlano | Andronico | Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie à Bruxelles | Christophe Rousset | Pierre Audi | |
| May 2015 | Vivaldi | La verità in cimento | Damira | Opernhaus Zürich | Ottavio Dantone | | |