Pauline Courtin

Soprano

Pauline Courtin began her musical studies at the Conservatory of Aix-en-Provence, her hometown. She earned a First Prize in Voice at the Marseille Conservatory, concurrently with a Master’s degree in Public Law before honing her skills at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the CNIPAL in Marseille. She also holds a Master’s degree in Opera Singing from the CNSM in Paris. Her career began with the Mozart repertoire at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, performing the role of Blondchen (”Die Entführung aus dem Serail”), a role she successfully reprised at the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca and the Esplanade Opéra in Saint-Étienne. She subsequently sang Despina (”Così fan tutte”) at the Villa Medici (Académie de France à Rome) and the Feldkirch Festival; Zerlina (”Don Giovanni”) at the Saint-Céré Festival; and Barbarina (”Le Nozze di Figaro”) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Barbican Centre in London, the Marseille Opera, and the Paris Opera.

First brought to public attention by the Aix-en-Provence International Festival in the role of Eurydice (”Orphée aux Enfers”), Pauline Courtin has worked under the baton of prestigious conductors such as Evelino Pidò, René Jacobs, Alain Guingal, Tiziano Severini, Claude Schnitzler, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Jean-Yves Ossonce, Claire Gibault, Yoel Levi, Alain Altinoglu, Lothar Zagrosek, and Sylvain Cambreling.

In France, she has performed the roles of Gilda (”Rigoletto”) at the Opéra de Bordeaux and the Musiques au Cœur festival in Antibes; Le Feu, La Princesse, and Le Rossignol (”L’Enfant et les Sortilèges”) at the Théâtre du Châtelet as well as on tour at the Opéra de Nantes, Opéra d’Angers, and Opéra de Rennes; Le Chat (”Le Luthier de Venise” by Gualtiero Dazzi) at the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Opéra de Rouen; Ygraine (”Ariane et Barbe-Bleue”) at the Opéra de Nice; Lucie (”L’Héritière” by J.-M. Damase) at the Opéra de Marseille; Gabrielle and Pauline (”La Vie parisienne”) at the Opéra de Nice and the Capitole de Toulouse; and Resi (”Valses de Vienne”) at the Opéra d’Avignon and at the Opéra de Reims; Amour (”Orphée et Eurydice”), Despina (”Così fan tutte”), and Blondchen (”Die Entführung aus dem Serail”) at the Opéra de Saint-Étienne; Eurydice (”Orphée aux Enfers”) at the Grand Théâtre de Dijon, the Opéra de Metz, the Opéra de Toulon, the Opéra Royal de Versailles, and the Grand Théâtre de Provence; Soeur Constance (”Dialogues des Carmélites”) at the Opéra de Massy and the Opéra d'Avignon; Micaëla (”Carmen”) at the Opéra de Rouen and the Opéra de Versailles; Lydia (”Colomba” by J.-C. Petit) at the Opéra de Marseille; Musetta in the production “Mimi – Scènes de la vie de Bohème” (F. Verrières) a Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord premiere that toured France, notably to the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, the Grand Théâtre de Reims, and the Grand Théâtre de Provence. In 2025, she sings the role of the Lady-in-Waiting (”Dama”) in Verdi’s “Macbeth” alongside Plácido Domingo at the Salle Gaveau...

Abroad, she has performed the roles of Marie (”Les Oiseaux de Passage” by Fabio Vacchi) at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna; Iphis (Handel’s “Jephtha”) at the Chiesa Valdese in Rome; La Donna delle carte (”Il Letto della storia” by F. Vacchi) at the Teatro del Maggio Fiorentino; Taumännchen and Sandmännchen (”Hänsel und Gretel”) at the Rome Opera; Mélisande (”Pelléas et Mélisande”) at the Manaus Opera (Brazil); Anna Reich (Nicolai’s “Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor”) at the Stadthalle in Bayreuth; Isabelle (Méhul’s “L’Irato”) at the Beethoven Festival (recorded for Capriccio); the title role in “Pollicino” at the Teatro Vascello in Rome; Ygraine (”Ariane et Barbe-Bleue”) at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; and Thérèse (”Les Mamelles de Tirésias”) in Bangkok with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra… She also performs in concert, notably with the Ensemble Accentus conducted by Laurence Equilbey (Schumann’s “Das Paradies und die Peri”, Schubert’s “ Mirjams Siegesgesang”…), with the Lebanese National Orchestra in Beirut (French opera arias), in a program centered on Offenbach with the Rouen Opera Orchestra on tour in Russia…

In 2020, Pauline Courtin founded a musical theater company in collaboration with journalist and actor Christophe Barbier, with the aim of making opera more accessible to the general public. Their productions present the lives of famous composers while introducing audiences to great literary works: “Mozart, mon amour” (Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse from April 2023 to July 2024, Salle Gaveau, Les Nocturnes de la Villa Ephrussi, Festival Les 3 Coups de Jarnac…); “Offenbach et les Trois Empereurs” (Ramatuelle Festival, Montperreux Opera Festival, Mois Molière in Versailles); and “Choses vues… et chantées!” Les voix de Victor Hugo (Aix-en-Provence Biennale, Notes d’Automne Festival, Nice Opera...); this production has been recorded for the Aparté label, with a release scheduled for September 2025.

Since the start of the 2025 season, Pauline Courtin has hosted a segment titled
“Les petites histoires de la grande musique” (Little Stories of Great Music) on the radio station La Grande Musique.

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