Mayuko KARASAWA　, mezzo-soprano

After obtaining the First Prize at Kobe College in Japan, Mayuko Karasawa was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique de Paris studying under Rachel Yakar, William Christie, Emmanuelle Haim, Kenneth Weiss and Peggy Bouveret. Then she specialized in baroque vocal performance in the department of ancient music at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris.

Passionate about baroque music, she collaborated with some of most renowned leaders of the repertoire, including William Christie, Jean Tubery, Alan Curtis and Christina Pluhar.

She made her debut embodying Minerva in Thésée by Lully with the European Baroque Academy of Ambronay, under the direction of William Christie at the Barbican Center of London, at the Grand Theatre in Geneva and at the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels.

Quickly noticed, she was invited by the Poissy Theatre for three productions: Vespro della Beata Virgine by Monteverdi with the L’Arpeggiata ensemble conducted by Christina Pluhar; Dido and Aeneas (Belinda) by Purcell with the Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis, as well as a concert of Marie-Antoinette alongside Celine Frisch. She also regularly collaborates with the Capella Genevensis ensemble in productions such as The Fairy Queen by Purcell at the Carouge Theatre in Geneva, Les Indes Galantes (Hebe, Fatime, Zima) in Geneva and the Cite International of Arts in Paris.

Mayuko Karasawa performs both classical and romantic repertories with interpretative success, among the roles she sang the part of Despina in Cosi fan Tutte at the Creneaux Festival at the Chateau de Suscinio; Bastienne in Bastien and Bastienne at the Vannes Theatre; Yniold in Pelléas and Mélisande at the Rennes Opera; Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore as well as Giulietta in I Capuletti e i Montecchi by Bellini alongside Antoine Palloc.

Recently, she played the role of Onoria in Ezio by Gluck conducted by Alan Curtis at the Vienna Theatre, recorded by Virgin Classics. She also performed Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) in a surrealistic staging by Denis Chabroullet, which toured in France, Luxembourg, and Portugal and at La Folie in the Platee by Rameau in Tokyo.

She is interested in contemporary music and, notably, she performed the principal role in the world premiere, The Time of the Gold by Reijiro Korku, under the direction of Rei Nakanishi at the Nippon Budokan. She also takes particular interest in sacred music and has interpreted many of the most emblematic works in this repertoire: J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, J.S. Bach’s Magnificent and C.P.E. Bach or Requiem by Faure.

Mayuko Karasawa regularly performs in recitals in France, as well as Japan, alongside artists such as Dalton Baldwin, Antoine Palloc, Ophelie Gaillar and Kenneth Weiss.

Her discography includes two solo albums of French melodies, Antoinette, and Japanese melodies, Dear Future, with Decca-Universal Music, as well as a solo recording, The Art of Marie-Antoinette, with Fontec. She also recorded recently an album of Japanese children’s songs, Kodomonokuni, with the Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan.