Dimitri Scapolan / Instagram @ingesonradio

She made her debut a few months ago as a super soloist at theParis Opera. One might think of the culmination of a career. For Lorraine Campet, at just 27 years old, it is the continuation of a dream that began at a very young age. The one who is presented as one of the most talented double basses of her generation discovered her favorite instrument at the age of four and a half, encouraged by musical parents. “It was love at first sight that opened up a whole world to me,” she explains, recounting her first steps as a gifted child followed by a first teacher who gave her a start. Formative years. “I learned alongside him that a good double bass player plays the role of base and support for the other instruments in the orchestra. He must first listen to others.” Entrance to the Conservatory, first prizes in prestigious competitions, then the decisive meeting with Thierry Barbé, principal double bass at the Orchester National de l'Opéra de Paris, and finally his passion for a second instrument, the violin. Lorraine Campet became known until being called at the age of 17 to take and pass the entrance exam for the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra. “I was the baby of the orchestra,” she likes to say today. She stayed there for seven years before heading off to other successes: the Paris Opera, chamber music projects on the violin, but also personal projects that balanced her astonishingly mature life. In June we were able to listen to it at the Étoiles du Classique, the new festival, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, dedicated to the younger generation. See you now in November at the Palais Garnier for its first opera. A good alignment of the stars since she will play the Magic Flute by Mozart, who from the age of six wrote his own compositions.

Mitridate by Mozart

"Mitridate, Re di Ponto" is Mozart's first "seria" opera. My favorite version is that of the American tenor Bruce Ford, performed in 1991 at the Royal Opera House in London. This Mozartian singer, little known to the general public, with a career that was too short, gives us a breathtaking interpretation of the title role. He was a sublime singer who had great class. I heard this version for the first time a few years ago. A friend who was a fan of opera sent it to me. Later, I got the complete version on DVD. It is the quintessence of what a voice can give: technical perfection in the service of emotion. Listening to it does me good. Bruce Ford's voice is sweet as honey, inspiring, touching. And at the same time, we find the sobriety and simplicity that Mozart's music requires. A perfect version."

“Body and Goods” by Robert Desnos

“I discovered this collection of poetry when I was in high school. It was an upheaval for me. Since then he hasn't left me. I reread these poems very frequently. In today's political climate, it resonates with us in many ways. I have a pocket edition of “Body and Goods” that I often take with me when I travel. Reading this collection led me to other works by Robert Desnos, a great figure in the surrealist movement. Deported and died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Robert Desnos wrote a lot during the Second World War about freedom and also about the fact that it was necessary to fight to defend it even though he was opposed to the war. If there is a battle to be fought, it is the battle for freedom. In “Body and Goods” we also find this sublime poem “I dreamed so much of you” from the collection “À la mysterious” evoking an unrequited love. The other great texts of Surrealism can touch me, but it is particularly this voice that I love. »

Yardani Torres Maiani and his album “Asteria”

“It’s the meeting of gypsy flamenco music with classical classical music. Absolutely brilliant. Yardani is a violinist, he composed all the pieces on the album in which he brings together two violins, an electric guitar, a harpsichord, a cello and a double bass. This music touches me directly in the heart. It’s full of life and stories. Yardani Torres Maiani knew how to mix his heartfelt gypsy-flamenco music with everything he learned in his classical studies at the conservatory. It’s the intersection of these two worlds. I had the chance to share a concert with him, we played the program of his album and he wrote and dedicated a piece for solo double bass to me. It’s a very beautiful meeting, which happened thanks to a mutual friend who knew we would get along well!” His music is Andalusia and it is so imaginative that we find ourselves, from the first notes of the album, transported. We imagine the horses, the dust, the heat, the crackling fire… We go far, and also far from the very conservative universe of classical music. Discovering these ways of playing with him gave me a distance from the framework. The framework is good for learning. Once you have learned the basics, you have to detach yourself from it.

The Goldberg Variations by Jean Rondeau

“It was a turning point when I heard them for the first time. Since we were talking about freedom, this album is the perfect expression of freedom in a framework. We know Bach’s Goldberg Variations by heart. It’s almost mythical. Jean Rondeau is a young harpsichordist. He manages to embody the Variations in a way that I had never heard before. He has an extremely rich, colorful relationship with sound, with all the colors and powers possible. For me, he achieves an explosion of sounds, freedom, and groove. He has a strong, intelligent personality, but also humble, generous, and sincere. The identity of a musician always shines through in his playing. I met the human before knowing the musician. I wanted to listen to him play, to realize his freedom and the strength of his personality. Quite naturally, I had to type his name into YouTube and I came across his version of the Goldbergs.”

André Comte-Sponville

“A philosopher who inspires me a lot and accompanies me in my daily reflections. I really like his very simple way of guiding thought and thus making philosophy accessible. It encourages us to humility. I remember from his thoughts the idea of ​​living life to the fullest rather than dreaming of it. It invites us to live more in the present moment, to act and love, to have fewer expectations and therefore fewer disappointments or frustrations. Carpe Diem ! »

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva

“I discovered the work of this Portuguese artist with a unique language in a retrospective at the Cantini museum in 2022 in Marseille. It was a magnificent exhibition which retraced his key periods. The fact that perspective is her main research subject makes her extremely sensitive and poetic. And what could be more inspiring than putting poetry into perspective? I had the chance to visit her workshops thanks to Emmanuel Jaeger because her family was very close to her. (Her father, Jean-François Jaeger, was a great gallery owner, owner of the Jeanne Bucher gallery, and enormously supported this exceptional artist). It was very moving to discover the space where she drew her inspiration and where she created so much! »