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[title]Romantic, mysterious, and deeply passionate, Emma Shapplin returns to Buenos Aires for a single concert on November 14 at Teatro Ópera (tickets on sale here). The French artist — who has sold more than six million albums worldwide — arrives with Venere Tour 2025, a tour that revisits the best of her career and reaffirms her place as one of the most unique and magnetic voices in lyrical-pop crossover.
Shapplin is not just a soprano: she is a creative universe unto herself. Writer, composer, producer, videographer, photographer, and painter, she is involved in every layer of her work, from the first written word to the final staging decision. She constructs sonic worlds that combine operatic drama, pop sensitivity, neoclassical textures, and even electronic pulses. This blend has taken her to perform on such striking stages as the Acropolis of Athens, the Singapore Opera House, the Caesarea Arena in Belgrade, the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, theaters across Latin America, Mediterranean coasts in Tunisia, and even a temple in Bali.
With a discography that includes Carmine Meo, Etterna, Macadam Flower, Dust of a Dandy, and Venere, the artist is going through a personal and professional moment she describes as expansive: “I keep moving forward and fulfilling my dreams. I’m in a very happy place.”
A creator who flows between languages
Throughout the conversation, Shapplin confirms something her followers already sense: her art resists any label. It doesn’t answer to a genre but to an inner impulse. “I flow between different styles. Sometimes it’s neoclassical, sometimes electro-pop. In my concerts there are always opera arias that, of course, have my own approach.”
“I flow between different styles. Sometimes it’s neoclassical, sometimes electro-pop”
Her creative process is as organic as it is dreamlike. Many songs are born from a phrase that appears—almost like a flash in the night—and turns into music. “I wake up in the middle of the night and rush to the piano or the computer. Words bring the melody.” Multilingualism is part of that flow. For Emma, singing in French, Italian, English, Latin, or Spanish is not a technical decision but an emotional one. “Language is the heart of a nation. Words choose the music.”
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Voice, silence, and the forest
Over the years, the artist feels her voice has become firmer, more curious, and freer. She explores, reinvents, and plays. But one thing supports that growth: calm. Silence — the very thing others fear — is for her a fertile place. “Silence is not empty. It’s vibrant and full of emotions.” She lives in a house surrounded by forest, and that environment, she says, is essential to her artistic sensitivity: “Everything there inspires, and silence is never complete in nature: there’s always something moving, creaking. I’m an introverted and solitary person and I like that.”
“Silence is not empty. It’s vibrant and full of emotions”
A long-awaited return to Argentina
Emma has a deep emotional bond with the Argentine audience. Something in this land — she says — moves her and connects with her on a visceral level. “Coming back to Argentina… I’ve waited so long. I’m very, very happy. I have loving fans and friends there, I always have an incredible time.” That enthusiasm pulses through everything she anticipates from the show: an emotional journey through her repertoire, new versions, arias, intimate moments, and that theatrical atmosphere only she knows how to create.
Q&A with Emma Shapplin
An unforgettable stage: An excavation site from the Roman Empire in Bulgaria, where they built a glass stage over tombs. It was strange… and beautiful.
A place to rest: My home, near the fireplace.
A book for touring: I always carry a different one, by various authors.
A musical artist you admire: Jacqueline du Pré, the greatest cellist who ever lived.
A childhood flavor: Endives. I hated them. Now I love them.
An eternal film: Laura, by Otto Preminger.
A recurring song: “Addio del passato” (La Traviata) or “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus.
An essential item in your suitcase: Spices like ginger or cloves.
An irresistible dessert: Rum baba.
A word that defines you today: Happy to be.