Karine Deshayes, Dominique Plancade,
Borodin Quartet

After studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (Paris), she joined the Company of the Opéra National de Lyon where she sang Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Stefano (Roméo et Juliette), and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia).

She then started a long term collaboration with the Opéra National de Paris. She made her debut in Rusalka, and then took part in the productions of Juliette ou la Clé des Songes, Faust, and Veck Makropoulos. She also appeared at the Salzburg Festival as Second lady (Die Zauberflöte) with Riccardo Muti.

Very soon, she was invited by many French opera houses. She sang La Cenerentola at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Zerlina (Don Giovanni) at the Théatre du Capitole, Toulouse and at the Opéra de Monte Carlo, Béatrice (Béatrice et Bénédict) at the Opéra National du Rhin. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Siebel (Faust).She then sang  Nicklausse (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, Adalgisa (Norma) at the Opéra de Saint-Etienne, Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito) at the Opéra d'Avignon, Poppea (L'Incoronazione di Poppea) at the Opera National de Bordeaux, Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) and Angelina (La Cenerentola) in Avignon, Charlotte (Werther) at the Opera de Lyon, Urbain (Les Huguenots) at the Teatro Real and at the Opéra National du Rhin, Siebel (Faust) at the Liceu of Barcelona, Rosina, Elena (La Donna del Lago), Cherubino (Le Nozze de Figaro), Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte) and Angelina (La Cenerentola) at the Opera National de Paris.

More recently, she has sung the title role in La Navarraise at the Salle Pleyel, Carmen Sesto (Giulio Cesare), Charlotte (Werther), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Poppea (Incoronazione di Poppea) at the Opéra National de Paris, Fenena (Nabucco) at the Chorégies d’Orange, Isolier (Le Comte Ory) at the Metropolitan Opera and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) at the Opéra d’Avignon.

Karine Deshayes also performs in concert and recital. Her performances include Les Nuits d’Eté at the Cité de la Musique, conducted by Emmanuel Krivine, and Ravel’s Sheherazadewith the Orchestra of the Liceu, conducted by Josep Pons. She was awarded with the Charles Cros prize for a “Fauré” recording in 2010, and named "Lyrical artist of the year" at the "Victoires de la Musique Classique" in 2011.

In 2014-2015 and beyond her engagements include Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) at the Opéra National de Paris, La Cenerentola at the San Francisco Opera, Nicklausse/La Muse (les Contes d’Hoffmann) at the Met with J.Levine, La belle Hélène in Toulon, re-invitations in Paris, Barcelona and at the Met,  her US Recital debut at the Kennedy Center, as well as many concerts.

The Borodin Quartet commands a special position of respect in the chamber music world. In existence for more than 60 years, it has preserved a unique performance tradition, focusing on the masterpieces at the very heart of the quartet repertoire. Its interpretations are celebrated for their intensity and focus, a style in which individualism dedicates itself to the collaborative spirit of chamber music and total service of the composer’s wishes.

The Borodin Quartet’s particular affinity with Russian repertoire was stimulated by a close relationship with Shostakovich, who personally supervised its study of each of his quartets. Widely regarded as definitive interpretations, the Quartet’s cycles of the complete Shostakovich quartets have been performed all over the world, including Vienna, Zurich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Lisbon, Seville, London, Paris and New York. In recent seasons the ensemble has performed a broad repertoire, including works by Beethoven, Schubert, Prokofiev, Borodin and Tchaikovsky, while continuing to be welcomed and acclaimed at major venues throughout the world.

The Borodin Quartet was formed in 1945 by four students from the Moscow Conservatory. Ten years later, it changed its name from the Moscow Philharmonic Quartet to the Borodin Quartet. The current formation is Andrei Abramenkov, Ruben Aharonian, Igor Naidin and Vladimir Balshin: Andrei Abramenkov became a member in 1974; Ruben Aharonian and Igor Naidin joined in 1996; Vladimir Balshin joined the Quartet in August 2007. Valentin Berlinsky, one of the long lasting members, retired from the Quartet in the summer of 2007. He remains associated with the Quartet as its artistic advisor.

In addition to performing quartets, the members of the Borodin Quartet regularly join forces with other distinguished musicians to further explore the chamber music repertoire. Their partners have included Dmitri Shostakovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Bashmet, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Natalia Gutman, Elisso Virsaladze and Christoph Eschenbach. The Quartet also regularly give masterclasses.

For its 60th Anniversary Season, the Borodin Quartet performed cycles of the complete Beethoven quartets at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Vienna Musikverein. Gala concerts honouring the Quartet’s contribution to musical history were performed in Moscow (January 2005) and at London’s Wigmore Hall and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris (May 2005). The ensemble also gave recitals in Madrid, Rotterdam, Brussels, Geneva, Munich, Lisbon, Barcelona, Athens, Cologne, Istanbul, Zurich, Berlin, Moscow, New York and London, playing the music of Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich – and of course Borodin.

The CD label Chandos recorded and released the complete Beethoven quartets as part of the 60th anniversary celebration. The Quartet’s first release on the Onyx label, featuring Borodin, Schubert, Webern and Rachmaninov, was nominated for a Grammy in the 2005 Best Chamber Performance category. The Borodin Quartet has produced a rich heritage of recordings over several decades, for labels including EMI, Virgin Classics, RCA and Teldec. Among its Teldec recordings, those of Tchaikovsky’s quartets and Souvenir de Florence, Schubert’s String Quintet, Haydn’s Seven Last Words and a disc of Russian Miniatures all received acclaim. The Tchaikovsky disc was honoured with a Gramophone Award in 1994.