Vocal - my/maSCENA

CMIM Announces Three Finalists of the Art Song Division

By Newswire on 3 June 2022 Art Song, Classical Music, Opera

Montreal, June 3, 2022 – The six semifinalists of the Art Song division, along with their collaborative pianists, returned to the stage this Friday with a series of spectacular recitals. Traversing the rich Art Song repertoire, in multitude of styles and languages, and encompassing both standard and contemporary repertoire, each candidate once again demonstrated their undeniable artistry and was met with the enthusiastic applause of the public present in the Bourgie Hall. The deliberation of the Voice 2022 jury which took place thereafter concluded with the nomination of three finalists. A draw once again determined the order in which these…

Countertenor Nils Wanderer and pianist Jennifer Szeto, piano. 31 mai 2022

CMIM Report: The Leadup to the Semi-finals!

By Justin Bernard on 3 June 2022 Art Song, Music Competition, Opera

Last Wednesday, late in the evening of June 1, after two full days of competition, CMiM jury president Zarin Mehta announced the names of the 6 semifinalists in the Melody category and the 10 semifinalists in the Aria category. Art Song Since the beginning of the competition, Wah Keung Chan, Adrian Rodriguez (aka Don Adriano) and Justin Bernard have been following the performances of all these singers and live commenting on Facebook. Several choices of the jury were easy to make, notably in the Art Song category. Deepa Johnny, mezzo-soprano, Meredith Wohlgemuth, soprano, and Arvid Fagerfjäll, baritone, appeared to be…

David John Pike singing in a music video (screenshot from 'Ons Heemescht' mat neie Letzebuerger on YouTube)

David John Pike: Celebrating Vaughan Williams

By Zenith Wolfe on 3 June 2022 Choral, Classical Music

Canadian baritone David John Pike has long admired the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. At his 2012 Luxembourg recital, Pike’s performance of the composer’s Songs of Travel landed him his first solo recording with Signum Records, Whither must I wander? Pike has since performed Songs of Travel on a live radio broadcast with the Gryphon Trio, and he will be singing two of the work’s movements to commemorate Vaughan Williams’s 150th anniversary along with the composer’s rarely performed arrangement of his Five Mystical Songs at the Music and Beyond Festival in Ottawa. The Five Mystical Songs are musical interpretations of…

Mireille Asselin playing Adele in Die Fledermaus at the Met (image taken by Matthew Fried)

Mireille Asselin: Always Singing

By Wah Keung Chan on 3 June 2022 Opera, Vocal

“Singing was something I started doing as soon as I could make noise. My parents used to call me the ‘screecher creature’ as a baby.” For Ottawa soprano Mireille Asselin, the sounds emanating from her voice have now been replaced by a clear warm soprano capable of navigating Handel and Mozart to contemporary opera to folk. “I have always valued and prioritized versatility,” said Asselin. “It’s crucial to building and maintaining a singing career, especially in North America where opera work is more geographically scarce, plus I think it’s just way more interesting to do a bunch of different things!…

Editorial (June 2022)

By Wah Keung Chan on 2 June 2022 Arts Industry, Strings, Vocal

Welcome to the June 2022 issue of La Scena Musicale, our first national summer festival issue since the beginning of the pandemic. Since our April/May national issue, COVID restrictions have been relaxed in Canada, concert halls are allowed to return to 100 per cent capacity without need for masks—although some, like Ottawa’s Music and Beyond, will stick with the two-metre rule, restrict capacity to 25 per cent and keep masks mandatory. La Scena Musicale advocates that masks should still be worn at all times indoors. Our last national June issue in 2019 listed 550 Canadian summer arts festivals. For 2022,…

CMIM 2022 Semifinalists / demi-finalistes. Photo: Tam Photography

CMIM Announces Voice 2022 Semifinalists

By Newswire on 1 June 2022 Art Song, Classical Music, Opera

Montreal, June1st, 2022 – What a grand beginning for Voice 2022! The first rounds of the Aria and Art Song divisions allowed the public present at Bourgie Hall — and those listening via our broadcasting platforms — to see the high calibre of the competitors. The audience unanimously welcomed their passion and joy. At the end of this spectacular first round, the Voice 2022 jury has now determined which competitors will advance to the Semifinal. Subsequently, a draw determined the order in which these competitors will take the stage. Semifinalists – ART SONG In order of appearance Friday June 3,…

Photo: Brent Callis

OCM: “A symphony to celebrate the memory of a great man”

By Justin Bernard on 31 May 2022 Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Vocal

May 27 marked the last concert of the season by the Orchester Classique de Montréal (OCM) at the Maison symphonique de Montréal. So many concerts, so many tributes paid to “exceptional women” during these few months. The last tribute in the series went to cellist Lotte Brott (1922-1998) who co-founded the OCM, formerly the McGill Chamber Orchestra, in 1939. The tragic death of her son and conductor Boris Brott, who led the orchestra for many years, was of course on everyone’s minds. Returning from intermission, Jacques Lacombe, who exceptionally conducted the musicians, shared some memories and recalled that the OCM…

Jacques Lacombe conducting (image courtesy of the Orchestre Symphonique des Trois-Rivières website)

Newswire | Jacques Lacombe to Conduct OSM at International Aria Competition

By Newswire on 25 May 2022 Art Song, Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral

Montréal, May 25, 2022 – Le Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) is proud to announce that Maestro Jacques Lacombe will conduct the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) for the semifinal and final rounds of the Aria competition on June 6-7 and 9 at Maison symphonique. The CMIM is extremely grateful to Maestro Jacques Lacombe who has agreed to step in on short notice to conduct for the Aria competition of Voice 2022. Maestro Lacombe last collaborated with the CMIM for Piano 2004. Maestro Bramwell Tovey, who was slated to conduct for Voice 2022, has been advised by his doctors…

Photo: Michael Cooper

Review | Canadian Opera Company’s La Traviata a Feast for the Eyes and Ears

By Denise Lai on 4 May 2022 Concert Reviews, Opera

One of the Verdi’s best-known operas with many recognizable tunes, La Traviata tells the tragic love story of Parisian courtesan Violetta, who initially rejects the notion of love, but eventually falls for the handsome Alfredo, only to be forced to relinquish her life with him, in the name of saving his family’s honour. Conducted by Music Director Johannes Debus, this is a revival of COC’s 2015 production under director Arin Arbus, which stays true to Verdi’s original vision for the opera, and transports the audience back into the world of Paris’ elite in the mid-1800s. What you missed Egyptian-born soprano…

Iwan Edwards (1937 – 2022)

By Wah Keung Chan on 15 April 2022 Choral

Conductor, violinist and educator Iwan Edwards passed away on the morning of March 4, 2022, at the age of 84. Last issue, he was interviewed by Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais for our feature on the St. Lawrence Choir’s 50th anniversary. In 2019, he contributed a three-page retrospective on his career. We pay tribute to Edwards by publishing the memory of my first experience singing with him (blog post from 2014). Visit the Facebook Group “Remembering Iwan Edwards” for more memories from those he touched: www.facebook.com/groups/3115218298732574/ Filmmaker Amena Ahmad is working on a documentary on Iwan Edwards: Once & For All The First…

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