Natalie Dessay (French: [na.ta.li də.sɛ] (listen); born 19 April 1965) is a French singer and actress, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann in 1992, and then performing at leading opera houses.
Since her earlier career she had been known in coloratura soprano roles in the German and French repertoire, such as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann, the title role in Lakmé, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. After two vocal surgeries she turned her focus to heavier bel canto roles, such as Amina in La sonnambula, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Marie in La fille du régiment, Violetta in La traviata, and further explored Baroque music with her collaborations with Emmanuelle Haïm. Since retiring from opera stage, she has pursued a career in theatre and in concert, where she now performs, besides classical, genres such as jazz and chansons.
She has made dozens of recordings under the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics label, and then under Warner Classics/Erato Records. Since 2016 she has been recording under Sony Classical Records.