Children Chorus
PHOTO : © Dominique Jaussein
The Nice Côte d'Azur Opera Children's Choir is made up of young boys and girls aged 8 to 16, all recruited through auditions. Attached to the temple of Nice operatic art, this junior formation ensures all operatic and symphonic programming devolved to it throughout the season, just like the adult choir.
The children of this choir enjoy the privilege of being permanently surrounded by a whole team of musical and show professionals from the Nice Opera (choir and orchestra conductors, singers and instrumentalists, directors, choreographers, technical staff, etc.), allowing them to practice their activity under the best conditions.
In recent years, these children have had the opportunity to participate in many productions, such as Bizet's Carmen; Puccini's La Bohème, Turandot and Tosca; Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute); Berg's Wozzeck; Moussorgski's Boris Godunov; Massenet's Werther; Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Noye's Fludde; Wagner's Parsifal; and Tchaikovsky's Pikovaya Dama (The Queen of Spades), as well as some world première pieces: Sans famille by J.C. Petit, The Red and the Black by Barcarolli, The Pied Piper by Donati and more.
As part of the events aimed at young audiences, the Nice Opera Children's Choir predominantly participates in various operatic works (Brundibár by Krasá, The Little Sweep by Britten, etc.) and can also be seen during specific concerts and shows in each season, highlighting not only the vocal and artistic qualities of the children but also the communicative enthusiasm and freshness of their expression.
Philippe NÉGREL, Head of the Nice Opera Children's Choir
Holder of several first-place Conservatory prizes and diplomas in artistic teaching, Philippe Négrel simultaneously leads a career as an instrumentalist, choirmaster and teacher.
Having practised in many French orchestras, he is today director of the Nice Opera Children's Choir, with which he creates the operatic and symphonic works requiring the voices of children. He also composes many projects with this junior formation (opera and musical shows for children, school activities, concerts and recitals, etc.), forming the subject of performances in Nice and the surrounding region.
After teaching at the 'Rayonnement Régional' Regional Conservatory (CRR) in Nice, he is now a professor at the Antibes Juan-les-Pins Music and Dramatic Art Conservatory. At the same time, he serves as artistic director of the Pange Lingua ensemble of professional singers, as well as for the Ensemble Vocal de Nice, a formation regularly invited to participate in productions from the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra.