The French-Swiss bass-baritone Yannis François was born in Guadeloupe and began his career as a dancer. He studied at the École-Atelier Rudra Béjart in Lausanne before becoming a member of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. Maurice Béjart himself encouraged him to pursue a singing career alongside his dancing, after which Yannis François completed his vocal studies at the Conservatoire de Lausanne.
His operatic roles include Curio (Giulio Cesare), Peter Quince (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Sascha in Shostakovich’s Moscow, Cheryomushki, Melisso (Alcina), Isacius in Telemann’s Riccardo Primo conducted by Michael Hofstetter, Seneca (L’incoronazione di Poppea) and Plutone (L’Orfeo) with Leonardo García Alarcón, Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King, the Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) in a production by Sasha Waltz with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin at the Berlin State Opera and the leader of the sailors in Marais’ Alcyone with Jordi Savall in Versailles.
His concert appearances include Bach’s Mass in B minor with Collegium 1704 and Václav Luks, the St John Passion with Ton Koopman, Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, and Mozart’s Requiem at the Philharmonie de Paris. He has collaborated with conductors such as Ottavio Dantone, Gabriel Garrido, Christina Pluhar and Paul Agnew.
Recent engagements include the bass solo in Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Polyphemus in Handel’s Acis and Galatea in Lismore (Ireland), and The Dragon/Gaffer Gubbins in Lampe’s The Dragon of Wantley at the Handel Festival in Halle.
He has appeared worldwide in Jordi Savall’s programs Festa Criolla and Un mar de músicas, including performances at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and Carnegie Hall in New York.
With great passion and expertise, Yannis François is dedicated to neglected repertoire and regularly collaborates with artists such as Jakub Józef Orliński, Philippe Jaroussky, Julie Fuchs, Jeanine De Bique, Bruno de Sá and Lea Desandre on the development and recording of various CD projects.
