HÉLÈNE LUCAS, piano
In 1984, Hélène Lucas obtained a 2nd award for piano at the CNSM in Paris, in Dominique Merlet’s class, as well as a 1st prize for chamber music. She then worked on accompaniment with Angéline Pondepeyre at the CNR in Rueil-Malmaison, Suzy Bossard at the CNSM in Lyon, and won two first prizes unanimously. Graduated in accompaniment, she taught at the Conservatory of Valence from 1984 to 1992 and then joined, as a vocal director, the Atelier Lyrique of the Opéra de Lyon then the CNSM of the same city where she is now vocal coach and assistant to Françoise Pollet.
Hélène Lucas perfected herself in Lied and melody with Ruben Lifschitz, with whom she accompanied several workshops. Since then, she has partnered with singers such as Stéphane Degout, Karine Deshayes and Doris Lamprecht in recitals in France and abroad. The Abbey of Royaumont has relied on her to collaborate in workshops led by internationally renowned artists.
Hélène Lucas has recorded melodies by Théodore Gouvy with Cyrille Gerstenhaber, a work that has received a very favorable reception from music critics. She recorded with Karine Deshayes, and the collaboration of Stéphane Degout, melodies by Gabriel Fauré, CD awarded the Diamond Operalia Prize awarded by Opéra Magazine and the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros. With Stéphane Degout, she has just recorded, for Naïve Records, «Mélodies», dedicated to the French repertoire. His long-standing bond with Stéphane Degout allowed them to explore a wide repertoire of Lieder and melodies. Together they have performed recitals at the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Auditorium du Louvre, the Berlin Philharmonie, Liège, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, and the Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice. They have performed on stages such as the Opéra de Lausanne, the Opéra de Lyon, Nantes, Bordeaux, the Théâtre de la Monnaie, and at Lincoln Center in New York. They participated at the Festival d’October in Normandy and they closed the Festival du Lied of Friborg in Switzerland. Finally, the French embassy in Rome and that of Vienna also invited them. They gave recitals at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and at the Wigmore Hall in London.
Since autumn 2011, she has been a faculty member at La Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, as a pianist and «coach» in the singing section directed by José van Dam.