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Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra appointment

Emmanuel Villaume has been designated Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

His appointment becomes effective September 2009.

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Maestro Villaume gives an extended interview to Bruce Duffie of The Opera Journal

Interview with Emmanuel Villaume

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New Recording - French Heroines - Airs d'opéras français

French Heroines - Airs d'opéras français has been released
on CD on the Decca label. Emmanuel Villaume conducts the Orchestra
Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo with Nathalie Manfrino, soprano.
Works by Gounod, Massenet, Delibes, Debussy.

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In the press

Steve Smith, New York Times, February 20, 2008

Among the great pleasures of regularly attending concerts is the occasional encounter with a performance that far surpasses expectations.

The concert by the Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall on Monday night did just that. I can’t think of another recent orchestral program that left me more exhilarated.

There was every reason to anticipate a fine experience: musicians of the Juilliard School are a dependable source of polished, enthusiastic playing. The conductor was Emmanuel Villaume, the music director of the Spoleto Festival USA. His performances in New York, with the Metropolitan Opera (where he is leading “Carmen”) and elsewhere, have generated positive response.

Mr. Villaume, a tall man who wields his sizable hands expressively, whipped up an impressive frenzy in the opening bars of Strauss’s “Don Juan.” His interpretation was brawny and voluptuous, without skimping on precision and clarity. Robust horns and the limpid solo playing of Ilana Setapen, the concertmaster, were among the highlights of a finely tuned account.

The electricity Mr. Villaume mustered in Berlioz’s “Royal Hunt and Storm,” from “Les Troyens,” was all the more impressive for the control with which he wielded it. Countless details surfaced with the impact of fresh revelations during a concluding performance of “La Mer” by Debussy, which ebbed and flowed with suitable capriciousness but never lost coherence.

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