I am melancholy
Contemporaneity of early music cycle
Francisco Mañalich, tenor & viola da gamba
Born in Santiago de Chile, Francisco Mañalich studied musicology at the Catholic University of Chile. Trained in singing with tenor Rodrigo del Pozo, he was awarded the 2009 Prize for Lyric Singing Performance with distinction. He also studied viola da gamba with Juan Manuel Quintana, Nima Ben David and Christophe Coin at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris (CNSMDP). At the same time, he specialised in basso continuo on the viola da gamba with Frédéric Michel.
His interest in early music led him to study medieval and Renaissance music as part of the professional Master program at the Sorbonne in partnership with the CNSMDP, where he was trained in polyphonic improvisations (11th - 16th centuries), manuscript reading and medieval counterpoint with Raphaël Picazos, as well as monodic music with Katarina Livljanić, with whom he now collaborates on various artistic projects.
As a singer, Francisco has specialised in various repertoires: opera and oratorio, baroque singing, German Lied, French mélodie.
Since 2012, Francisco took part in the production of Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (Molière, music by Lully), directed by Denis Podalydès and directed by Christophe Coin, in which he demonstrated his versatility as both a singer and violist, and also accompanied himself on the baroque guitar. Created at the Bouffes du Nord (revived in 2015), the show has been performed in various European cities, as well as in Moscow, China and at Lincoln Center in NYC. In 2015, Alpha Productions recorded a DVD of the production at the Royal Opera of Versailles. Francisco has also recorded several discs for the labels Harmonia Mundi, Alpha, Musica Ficta, Agogique, Aeolus, etc.
In 2015, he took part in the production of the opera L'Italiana a Londra by D. Cimarosa, directed by Martin Gester. He also performed Ferrando in Così fan tutte in 2015/2016 in Lyon, at Le Manège, l’Espace Saint Germain in Vienne (conducted by Claire Levacher, directed by Zoltàn Ceskö), and then sang the role of Idamante in Idomeneo at the Maison de la Musique in Nanterre (conducted by Dominique Daigremont, directed by Jeanne Debost).
In 2017, he sang Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) for the commemoration of the attacks at the Bataclan theatre (Opéra en Herbe). In 2017, he recorded his solo vinyl record, I am melancholy for the label Son an ero, dedicated to the 17th-century music, where he sings and accompanies himself on the viola da gamba.
In 2018, he played the role of Christ in St John Passion by Gaetano Veneziano with Capella Mediterranea (L. G. Alarcón), for the concert program of the Royal Chapel of Versailles and the Bozar Palace in Brussels.
In the same year, he recorded Monteverdi's Vespers for the Alpha label, with the Compagnie La Tempête (S. P. Bestion), and then performed that program at the festivals of Noirlac, Périgueux, Laissay, and Besançon.
In 2019, he recorded Le Délire des lyres with Marco Horvat for the label Hortus, followed by a second album dedicated to the repertoire of Jean-Noël Hamal, with the ensemble Scherzi Musicali. Finally, in 2021 he recorded a new solo album, featuring 19th-century melodies, where he accompanied himself with the arpeggione.