In Monteverdi's L’incoronazione di Poppea, the final production of the operatic season at the Opéra de Lyon, Hugo Santos made his notable debut in the role of Seneca.

Press excerpts:

"Hugo Santos's Seneca is highly acclaimed." (Classica, Vincent Borel, June 23, 2026)

"Hugo Santos delivers a solid Seneca, whose vocal stability complements his moral authority." (Olyrix, Tony Garnier-David, June 16, 2026)

"The Seneca of bass Hugo Santos is a success: the character, often portrayed negatively in other productions, sometimes deliberately bland, acquires here a superior personality and dimension, through his dramatic performance and almost constant stage presence, but above all through the breadth, fullness, and depth of his voice." (Forumopera, Fabrice Malkani, June 17, 2026)

"Managing to discipline his angular voice, Hugo Santos brings out the velvety quality of his timbre, even treating us to the luxury of a low (and unwritten) D at the end of his performance, a note we haven't heard so clearly and accurately sung live since Nikolai Ghiaurov. Chapeau!“ (Résonances lyriques, Patrick Favre-Tissot-Bonvoisin, June 23, 2026)

"The bass Hugo Santos offers an elegant and striking Seneca, both dramatically and vocally." (Classykeo, Joël Heuillon, June 16, 2026)

"We have often regretted not hearing more of Hugo Santos, who is frequently relegated to small roles. This time, we find him as Seneca to our great pleasure and can thus better appreciate his cavernous projection, whose powerful resonance fills his entire palate. The projection is quite beautiful, and the whole thing gives him a natural authority." (Opera Online, E.M., June 19, 2026)

"The deep, somewhat cavernous instrument of bass Hugo Santos undoubtedly possesses the lowest notes of Seneca." (Anaclase, Irma Foletti, June 15, 2026)

"We are delighted to hear Hugo Santos's appropriate vocal volume throughout the considerable length of the role of Seneca." (Resmusica, Jean-Luc Clairet, 06.23.26)

30.06.26

Once again, Coline Dutilleul, accompanied by pianist Aurelia Visovan (playing Stephen Paulello's extraordinary "Opus 102"), offers us a recording that reflects her own style: deeply poetic and exquisitely delicate. The title: "In deinen süßen Händen - Musik für verlorene Seelen." In English: "In your sweet hands - music for lost souls."

Press excerpts:

„This is an extraordinarily well-crafted and consistently high-quality album: the project, the visuals, the choice of works, the liner notes, and the musical interpretation.“ (La Libre Belgique, N.B., 03.06.26).

“A program about mourning and the melancholy of loss, built around some of Schubert’s most famous Lieder: for a singer still at the beginning of her career, and moreover one whose mother tongue is French (albeit with impeccable German), the risk is immense. The success is all the more brilliant.” (Diapason, Sylvain Fort, July 2026)

„What the excellent Belgian label Fuga Libera presents under the reference FUG864 is an intimate chamber music work of remarkable internal logic and coherence. Mezzo-soprano Coline Dutilleul and pianist Aurelia Vişovan draw a bow between the Baroque structures of Johann Sebastian Bach and the melancholic depths of Franz Schubert. The ensemble might sound like heavy going, but a dynamic unfolds within it that leaves the listener surprisingly invigorated. One emerges from this seventy-minute immersion in a balm for the soul with a feeling of purification and an astonishing lightness. (…) Coline Dutilleul resists the temptation to tear the melodies apart with operatic power. Her mezzo-soprano, with its restrained vibrato and gentleness, creates an atmosphere of almost ghostly unreality that immediately captivates the listener.“ (Online Merker, Dirk Schauß, May 2026)

„Unlike the great mezzo-sopranos of yesteryear (Marilyn Horne, Christa Ludwig, Janet Baker), the Belgian singer doesn't transpose Schubert's score down to showcase her lower register. She sings it in the original key, with a soprano palette reminiscent of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Her interpretation of „Vom Mitleiden Mariä“ (which depicts the Virgin Mary's sorrow) is no less striking. Her timbre constantly shifts; more velvety in the lower register, firmer in the upper, with intermediate states that defy categorization.“ (Le Monde, Pierre Gervasoni, 23.06.26)

Recording released by Fuga Libera (Outhere Music), available on all streaming platforms and at good record stores.

24.06.26