Who is Edwin Fardini, the lyrical artist of the revelation of Classical Music Victory 2023?

Martinique-born baritone Edwin Fardini was nominated in the “singer, lyrical artist” category of the 2023 Victoires de la musique Classique. The musician studied singing at CNSMD in Paris in the class of Élène Golgevit, and perfected it with pianists Anne Le Bozec and Susan Manoff, as well as baritones Stephan Genz and mezzo-soprano Janina Baechle. He also participated in masterclasses by Thomas Quasthoff, Bernarda Fink and Regina Werneret. After his training, he was quickly employed as a soloist with prestigious orchestras and institutions in France and abroad and won many awards.

France Music: How did you find your voice?

That’s a bit of a coincidence. Actually, I started by learning the piano. It didn’t work because the piano didn’t suit me. But it allowed me to take music training classes that introduced me to singing. And then, while I was studying piano at the Créteil conservatory, in my senior year, I heard two cycles of Mahler’s Lieder that made me want to sing: Earth Song by Anne-Sofie von Otter, and Ruckert-Lieder, by Jessye Norman. I said to myself: this is what I want to do. What I love about singing is having text, and more than just text, poetry. It means having an additional or complementary dimension in expression that goes beyond text and music. And then, there’s also the fact of being able to sing in very different formations.

There is something very “self” about singing. We cannot hide that we are hiding something. And it’s also one way to get to know each other.

Do you have a favorite directory?

It is true that I really like poetry. It’s my favorite literary genre. The theatre, I like, but more anecdotal. My dream is to sing Kindertotenlieder Where Earth Song from Mahler, for example.

Would you like to meet a composer, dead or alive?

Gustav Mahler, of course (laughs).

You cite Jessye Norman among your models, do you have others in other fields, for example in literature?

Toni Morrison, or Edouard Glissant, Martinique writer.

What is the role of musicians like you in society? Do you want to place your artwork for a specific purpose?

I like to invite people I have the opportunity to meet on trips. That they allow themselves to be moved, that they are not completely rooted where they are, but that they can consider that other things and other people can exist. What I love about music is the question of relationship.

Can you do anything else in life?

There are many things. I am still today often torn between my different passions. It’s calmed down a bit over time, thankfully. Teaching is what I really love. Research also, more precisely in the field of human and social sciences. To be honest, I was preparing to enter Political Science before choosing to sing. And then, I really liked to draw when I was much younger. I also write a lot, fiction stories from pictures. In fact, I’m working on a project that combines all of these. Together with my team, we are the winners of the call for a project titled “New World” issued by the Ministry of Culture as part of the Recovery Plan. We propose making an audiovisual out of six short films. So there, we’ve staked out the set, we’ve recruited dancers, we’ve made quite a bit of progress.

What do you think this new world will look like?

Especially with a lot of poetry. A world where an individual’s aesthetic sense emerges through poetry, through language and through encounters.