François Pardailhé, tenor
Born in Lyon and raised in Toulouse, François Pardailhé initially studied the French horn before turning to classical singing. After graduating from the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Toulouse, he joined the vocal programme of the Académie internationale de musique française Michel Plasson in 2016 and began working with Didier Laclau-Barrère that same year.
He has appeared with numerous opera companies and musical ensembles, including the Opéra national du Capitole, the Opéra National de Bordeaux, the Opéra Royal de Versailles, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, La Monnaie, Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse, the Orchestre de chambre baroque de Toulouse, the Chœur de chambre Archipels – Les Éléments, Les Passions, the Orchestre Mozart Toulouse, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Le Concert Spirituel and the ensemble À Bout de Souffle.
In 2018, he made his debut at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in Offenbach’s La Périchole, with Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski. He subsequently returned to the production at the Opéra National de Bordeaux and the Opéra Royal de Versailles. In 2019, he sang Oloferno Vitellozzo in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, followed by Spoletta in Puccini’s Tosca under the direction of Emmanuel Plasson. He has also performed the roles of Guillot and Charles in Grétry’s Richard Cœur-de-Lion with Le Concert Spirituel, conducted by Hervé Niquet, at the Opéra Royal de Versailles.
His repertoire also includes Gérald in L’Histoire enchantée de Lakmé at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Castor in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux with the ensemble À Bout de Souffle. He has also sung Ermanno in Rossini’s L’equivoco stravagante with the Zürcher Kammeroper.
In 2023, he appeared as the Chaplain in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, before singing Buteux in Lecocq’s La Fille de Madame Angot at the Opéra-Comique, conducted by Hervé Niquet and directed by Richard Brunel. In December 2024, he presented his Artist Diploma recital at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. He subsequently performed Ménélas in Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène with Labopéra Bourgogne. In 2026, he appeared at the Opéra de Lyon in a new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, directed by Emma Dante and conducted by Sesto Quatrini.
François Pardailhé has been a Queen Elisabeth Associate Artist since 2026.
Last updated: 22 September 2026