Ariane Le Fournis's mezzo-soprano voice asserts itself with an impressively sustained woody, round and burnished quality that becomes almost androgynous in its confidence — abyssal and deep.

The first mezzo-soprano we will mention, the French singer Ariane Le Fournis won us over with her particularly powerful and deep low notes, which had us double-checking her vocal range. Hearing them, one could easily mistake them for those of a contralto! Her upper register nonetheless confirms her mezzo tessiture, and her overall vocal palette offers beautiful shading. The trills she produces are present without being overly marked or sounding "forced", and across all three arias she reveals beautifully shimmering colours. Here too, we were disappointed not to find her among the finalists.

The vocal style is impeccable and truly remarkable from beginning to end. The performance of alto Ariane Le Fournis is, quite simply, a revelation.

Mezzo Ariane Le Fournis, who recently made an impression on Brussels audiences on the Bozar stage with the ensemble Vox Luminis by plunging into very vibrant, woody and deep low notes, is less ceremonial here: freer in her approach to this no less demanding repertoire. Her vocal incantations grow ever more vibrant, both sonically and in terms of expressive engagement.