Guillaume Tournier

Conductor

Born in Provence, Guillaume Tourniaire studied piano and conducting at the Geneva Conservatory, during which time he was winner of a first prize in the international Gabriel Fauré piano competition. His professional career started as artistic director of the vocal ensemble Le Motet de Geneve from 1993, Chorusmaster at the Grand Théâtre de Geneve from 1996, and choir director of the Teatro la Fenice in Venice from 2001–2002. This early apprenticeship has given him a rare depth and experience with the opera and vocal repertoire, and this combined with his talent and passion for rare and previously unperformed music, has made him a highly sought after conductor on the world stage. Tourniaire made his conducting debut in 1998, at the Grand Théâtre de Geneve, in its production of Prokofiev’s opera Betrothal in a Monastery. He then appeared at the Opéra National de Paris, conducting Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps with choreography by Pina Bausch. He subsequently established a collaboration with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva conducting such works as the world premiere of the complete original version of Prokofiev’s music for the Eisenstein film, Ivan the Terrible—based on Tourniaire’s own reconstruction; Mahler’s Das klagende Lied; Janáèek’s Amarus and The Eternal Gospel; Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky; Bohuslav Martinù´s Gilgamesh; Jean-Michel Damase’s Madame de; Mozart’s Thamos König in Ägypten…

In 2005 he conducted Bizet’s Pearlfishers during the Venice Teatro la Fenice’s Japanese tour, and recorded his first CD (Grieg’s Peer Gynt complete incidental music) with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande). In 2006 he made his debut at the Prague State Opera, conducting Bernstein’s Candide, and became the company’s Musical Director in 2007.

In 2007 he began a major and regular artistic collaboration with the Australian label Melba Recordings, and has recorded since then five acclaimed CDs: In 2010 he made his Opera Australia debut with Bizet’s Carmen in Sydney’s Opera House. In 2011 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Ensemble Vocal et Instrumental de Lausanne. He has conducted the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestra della Regione Toscana in Florence, the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Teatro Sao Carlos in Lisbon, the Sferisterio Opera Festival in Macerata, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, the Stadttheater in Osnabrück, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie in Bremen, the Teatro Politeama Greco in Lecce, the Teatro Rendano in Cosenza, the Teatro Cilea in Reggio di Calabria, the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra National de Paris, the Camerata Antiqua in Seoul, the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Warsaw Polish Radio Orchestra, the Dijon Opera, the Hermitage Orchestra in Saint-Petersburg, the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, the Gulbenkian Orchestra from Lisbon, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, the Victoria Orchestra in Melbourne, the Sinfonia Varsovia… Performances to come: Eugene Oneguin, l’Elisir d’Amore, Don Pasquale, Faust in Sydney, Eugene Oneguin, Don Pasquale, Madama Butterfly in Melbourne, Alceste in Venice…

Discography In 2005, Guillaume Tournaire recorded a new, complete version of Grieg’s Peer Gynt with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande for the AEON/Harmonia Mundi label. Widely acclaimed by the critics, this recording won awards like the Diapason d’Or de l’année 2005, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, a five star review in the Guardian, etc. In 2006, once again with the Suisse Romande Orchestra, he recorded the world premiere of three works by Arthur Honegger (Le Cantiques des Cantiques, Jour de Fete en Suisse, and Radio Panoramique) for the Cascavelle label. With the Label Melba Recordings: In 2007 the world premieres of two works by Saint-Saëns, his opera Hélene and his songs cycle for soloists, chorus and orchestra Nuit persane, with the Orchestra Victoria (Melbourne). In 2009 the Mozart’s clarinet concerto with Paul Dean and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (Brisbane), and Pure Diva: a songs recital recording, with Cheryl Barker and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In 2010 Turbulent Heart: the world premieres of four symphonic poems with voice, by Louis Vierne and Le Poeme de l’Amour et de la Mer by Chausson, with Steve Davislim and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 Elan: world premieres of ballet music from Saint-Saëns’ operas, with the Orchestra Victoria (Melbourne). Videography In 2013, he conducted Don Pasquale in Sydney Opera House for a Cinema Live production and a DVD.