Lea Desandre
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We very quickly learn just how characterful Desandre can be with her amused, laughing reactions to women in battle in ‘Non posso far’, and the dark glitter of her voice in the melancholic ‘Lasciatemi... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, Critics' Choice 2021
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2021, Editor's Choice
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Presto Editor's Choice, October 2021
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
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Record Review, Records of the Year 2021
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Opus Klassik, 2022, Female Singer of the Year
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Gramophone Awards, 2022, Finalist - Voice & Ensemble
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Special offer. Handel: Italian cantatas
RecommendedSabine Devieilhe (soprano), Léa Desandre (mezzo)
Le Concert d'Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm (harpsichord, organ and conductor)
This production is a delight throughout…Haïm retains control by preparing both the scores and the sopranos’ ornaments, her vision giving this carefully wrought performance a fiery intensity,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
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Presto Editor's Choice, November 2018
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2018, Recording of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine, February 2019, Choral & Song Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020, Finalist - Vocal
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Special offer. Songs of Passion
RecommendedLea Desandre (mezzo), Thomas Dunford (lute, theorbo), with Alex Rosen (bass-baritone), Jess Dandy (contralto), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Huw Montague Rendall (baritone)
Jupiter
Across two discs, the performers shed any hint of 'whitewashed' English restraint, fathoming Dowland's twilight world and Purcell's exuberant theatricality. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2025, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Winner - Baroque Vocal
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2025
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The New York Times, Best Classical Music Albums of 2025
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Special offer. Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea
Sonya Yoncheva (Poppea), Kate Lindsey (Nerone), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Cognitive dissonance reigns as gorgeous music engulfs a drama about moral implosion. —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2019, Opera Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2020, Nominee – Baroque Vocal
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2020, Nominee – Conductor of the Year
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Special offer. Handel: Eternal Heaven
Lea Desandre (mezzo), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Thomas Dunford, Jupiter
Desandre’s pure, warm core and skilled application of vocal colours make her lyricism seductive, while her warp-speed passagi are simply astonishing. Countertenor Iestyn Davies delivers the... —
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, November 2022
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2023, Editor's Choice
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Female & Male Singer of the Year, Conductor of the Year, Solo Vocal
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All four soloists dig into the virtuosic writing with glee – Peter Whelan’s pyrotechnics in the Bassoon Concerto are little short of astonishing, and Franco-Italian mezzo Lea Desandre rivals... —
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, October 2019
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International Classical Music Awards, 2020, Winner - Assorted Program
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Special offer. Barricades
RecommendedJean Rondeau (harpsichord), Thomas Dunford (lute), Lea Desandre (mezzo-soprano), Marc Mauillon (baritone), Myriam Rignol (viola da gamba)
Though still both around 30, Dunford and Rondeau are already steeped in this rich and subtle repertoire, and play it like they own it …Both also like to indulge in some slowish tempos, but Dunford’s... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 5th June 2020
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Spanning four centuries, this gorgeous recital from a couple who were brought together through a mutual love of French Baroque is absolutely hypnotic stuff...Desandre's limpid, flexible mezzo... —
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, October 2023
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Special offer. Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
RecommendedKrzysztof Bączyk (Figaro), Sabine Devieilhe (Susanna), Andrè Schuen (Count), Adriana González (Countess), Lea Desandre (Cherubino)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Raphaël Pichon, Martin Kušej
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024, Shortlisted - DVD/Blu-ray of the Year
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Video Opera
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Mozart: Così fan tutte
Elsa Dreisig (Fiordiligi), Marianne Crebassa (Dorabella), Lea Desandre (Despina), Bogdan Volkov (Ferrando), André Schuen (Guglielmo), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Don Alfonso)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Joana Mallwitz, Christof Loy (stage director)
It’s frankly difficult to imagine a better-cast Così today...Mallwitz really makes Mozart’s score zing, keeping the Vienna Philharmonic light on their toes. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2021, DVD of the Month
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Video Performance
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Opus Klassik, 2022, Winner - Opera
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