Laurent Naouri

One of France’s most revered artists, baritone Laurent Naouri is recognised as much for the dramatic intensity of his operatic performances as for his fine musicianship and poignant interpretation from the concert platform. Since his professional debut in 1992 at Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, he has amassed a vast repertoire of over forty roles ranging from baroque through contemporary and has performed on the world’s most prestigious stages.

In the 2025/26 season, Laurent Naouri takes on the title role in John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by Lawrence Renes and with direction by Luca Guadagnino, he returns to Teatro Real as Capulet in (Roméo et Juliette) under Carlo Rizzi, sings his first Arkel (Pelléas et Mélisande) under Kazuki Yamada at Opera de Monte Carlo and interprets William Crusoé in a new staging of Offenbach’s seldom-performed Robinson Crusoé by Laurent Pelly, conducted by Marc Minowski at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

Roles pivotal to Naouri’s enduring success include the Devils in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann which he has sung at Teatro Real, Teatro alla Scala, Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Metropolitan Opera and at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Berliner Staatsoper, Teatro Real, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Los Angeles Opera and, most recently, at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Sir John Falstaff in Verdi’s Falstaff at Opéra national de Lyon, Santa Fe Opera and Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata at Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo and at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

A collaboration with Opéra national de Paris that started in 1994 continues to thrive today and has brought forth performances in wide-ranging repertoire including Massenet’s Manon and Cendrillon, Rameau’s Platée, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore and Don Pasquale, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Charpentier’s Médée, Enescu’s Œdipe and Offenbach’s Les Brigands.

Laurent Naouri made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012 as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, since returning to the New York stage as Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (broadcast as part of the Live in HD cinema series), Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon, High Priest in Samson et Dalila, and most recently as Marquis de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

Other major appearances for Laurent Naouri include Hamm in Kurtág’s Fin de partie at Staatsoper Unter Den Linden Berlin, conducted by Alexander Soddy, his debut at Royal Ballet & Opera as Escamillo (Carmen), at Bayerische Staatsoper as Marquis de La Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Ruprecht (The Fiery Angel) at Opéra national de Lyon, Mephistopheles (La Damnation de Faust) at both Les Chorégies d’Orange and Opéra national de Lyon, Tomsky (Pique Dame) and Scarpia (Tosca) at La Monnaie and Fieramosca (Benvenuto Cellini) at Dutch National Opera and Salzburger Festspiele.

A sensitive recitalist, enthusiastic jazz performer and well-recorded artist, Naouri’s operatic discography includes Lully’s Phaëton and Acis et Galatée, Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie and Dardanus, Handel’s La Resurrezione and Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini, Gounod’s Colombe and the title role in Donizetti’s Le duc d’Albe. As soloist he has recorded songs by Poulenc, Ravel and Roussel. His collaborations with jazz musicians include En Sourdine, a selection of French songs arranged by guitarist Frédéric Loiseau; Bridges, a programme dedicated to Eisler and Prokofiev with pianist Guillaume de Chassy and, together with pianist Manuel Rocheman, Round About Bill, a tribute to the music of Bill Evans.