Blandine de Sansal entered the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot in 2010 and complemented this training with a degree in Musicology at the Sorbonne. She soon distinguished herself in various competitions, notably at the International Léopold Bellan Competition, where she won First Prize, and at the Lied et Mélodie competition Les Saisons de la Voix, where she received the Prix de la Ville de Gordes. In September 2022, she won First Prize at the Froville International Baroque Singing Competition, as well as the Audience Prize:
“Acclaimed by the public, Blandine de Sansal wins first prize. A splendid 29-year-old mezzo, already familiar with several renowned ensembles, she brought powerful emotions to her captivated audience. The colors, projection, and phrasing earned unanimous admiration.”
(Yvan Beuvard, Forum Opéra)
She performs as a soloist under the direction of Sébastien Daucé (Ensemble Correspondances), Paul Agnew (Les Arts Florissants), Raphaël Pichon (Pygmalion), Damien Guillon (Le Banquet Céleste), Jean-Christophe Spinosi (Ensemble Matheus), Bertrand Cuiller (Le Caravansérail), Stéphane Fuget (Les Epopées), Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas (Les Surprises), Camille Delaforge (Il Caravaggio), and Gaétan Jarry (Ensemble Marguerite Louise).
On stage, she has sung Barberine (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart), Fragoletto (Les Brigands, Offenbach), Lisbé (Zémire et Azor, Grétry), and Argene (L’Olimpiade, Vivaldi). She also performed as alto soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennellein a stagedversion by Jos Houben and Emily Wilson at the Opéra de Rennes. Her performances attracted notice:
“A revelation, finally, with mezzo Blandine de Sansal, whose warm timbre proves particularly enchanting in the final Agnus Dei.” (Forum Opéra – Laurent Bury)
“Blandine de Sansal has a wide-ranging voice, particularly in her deep, resonant lower register. Poignant, she conveys great emotion in her last intervention.” (Olyrix – Véronique Boudier)
“The palm, however, goes to alto soloist Blandine de Sansal, who imposed an ecstatic silence during her moving interpretation of the Agnus Dei.” (Unidivers – Thierry Martin)
In 2021, she took part in the staged production Combattimento, La Théorie du Cygne Noir by Ensemble Correspondances at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, directed by Silvia Costa. She later sang the role of Goffredo (Rinaldo, Handel) at the Opéra de Rennes and the Opéra d’Avignon:
“Blandine de Sansal seizes the role of Goffredo with conviction, bringing to it her rich, velvety lower register, her sense of melodic line, and a noble presence.” (Tania Bracq, Forum Opéra)
She also performed the role of Nature in Locke’s Cupid and Death conducted by Sébastien Daucé, and later sang Orpheus in Gluck’s masterpiece, directed by Eddy Garaudel and conducted by Raphaël Pichon:
“At last we hear the superb alto of Blandine de Sansal.” (Télérama)
“Her technical ease allows her to bring a deeper darkness to her timbre, embodying an Orpheus animated both by grief and revolt.” (Olyrix – Olivier Delaunay)
In the coming seasons, she will take on the role of Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, conducted by Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas in a staging by Pierre Lebon, premiering at the Opéra de Clermont-Ferrand.
Blandine de Sansal also appears in solo recital programs, invited by ensembles such as Il Caravaggio, the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles for a Vivaldi recital at the Festival de Sablé-sur-Sarthe, and Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu at the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing. She has performed arias from Charpentier’s Médée and Handel’s Alcina at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, accompanied by the Orchestra and Choir of Les Arts Florissants under Paul Agnew:
“In excerpts from Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s opera Médée, Blandine de Sansal offers penetrating glimpses into the depths of the soul. In Handel’s Alcina, she impresses with her high degree of expressiveness.”(Susanne Zobl, Kurier-Wertung)
Her love of poetry and literature has led her to interpret a wide range of songs and lieder in chamber music settings. She also performs an extensive sacred repertoire, which she has explored since an early age.
“With her moving voice, she portrays the torments of a cursed man, shaping her phrasing down to the finest detail and sending shivers through the audience in her aria. She plunges into drama, embodying murderer and traitor alike with the intonation and expressivity of a tragedian. She moves through grand vocalises, eloquent silences, and lyrical phrases leading to deep, resonant, and full-bodied lows.” (Véronique Boudier, Olyrix, on Telemann’s Brockes Passion at the Opéra de Rennes under Damien Guillon).
