Once a student in Physics at the École Normale Supérieure, she finally chose to dedicate herself to singing, instead of starting a thesis in Cosmology. In 2003, she was admitted to the Opera Studio in Zürich, before she got into the CNSM in Paris as a postgraduate student. She won the Second Prize at the International Singing Competition of Toulouse, the Hope Prize at the Montserrat Caballé Competition, the Fourth Prize as well as the Public Prize in Verviers, The Prize of the Academy at the Aix-en-Provence Festival… She now works with Malcom Walker and Christa Ludwig, who has been supporting her since the very beginning.

Karen Vourc'h sang the parts of Feklusha (Katia Kabanova), Die Schleppentragerin (Elektra), and the First Lady (Die Zauberflöte) at the Zürich Opera House, and in France, she was Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), The Countess (Nozze di Figaro), Musetta (Bohème), Violetta (Traviata), Diane (Orphée aux enfers), and Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), and more recently she was Fanny in Vladimir Cosma’s Marius et Fanny, in Marseilles, where she sang with Sébastien Guèze. In the contemporary repertoire, she was the first singer to perform Medea, by Guillaume Conesson, and sang Juliette (in Roméo et Juliette by Pascal Dusapin) at the Opéra Comique, as well as Chantal (le Balcon) by Peter Eotvos. Young as she may be, she has already worked with prestigious conductors such as Eliahu Inbal, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Hervé Niquet, Alain Altinoglu, Jérémie Rohrer, Marko Letonja. 

She is particularly appreciated when appearing in recitals, and because of her Norwegian origins, she feels naturally attracted to a Scandinavian repertoire which she sings along with Vincent Coq, Susan Manoff, Jean-Philippe Collard or the Moraguès quintet. She is regularly invited by Gaëlle Le Gallic (“Dans la Cour des Grands”) and Arielle Butaux (“Un Mardi idéal”), to take part to their programs on France Musique, as well as by Eve Ruggieri for her “Musiques au Cœur”.

In 2009 she appeared as Manon at the Esplanade St-Etienne. Further productions include Fanny in Avignon, Annina (in Menotti’s Saint of Bleeker Street) at the Opéra de Marseille, Musetta at the Opéra de Monaco, Mélisande  at the Opéra Comique conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Vincenette (Mireille) at the Chorégies d’ Orange.

Concerts:

Grand Opening: ANIMA
8.9.2015