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Appointment News
Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) has announced the news that Pulitzer Prize-winning Canadian librettist, Royce Vavrek has been named their second-only artistic director, taking over from co-founding artistic director Joel Ivany. Vavrek is one of the opera world’s busiest librettists. Called “the indie Hofmannsthal” by The New Yorker magazine, Vavrek wrote the libretto for Indians on Vacation (score by Ian Cusson), originally workshopped at Edmonton Opera and currently being developed for future performances by AtG.
Eun Sun Kim. Photo: Kim Tae Hwan
San Francisco Opera has announced news of the extension of their music director, Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim’s contract for five years running until the end of the 2030-31 season. Kim was initially appointed in 2021 and is the first female conductor to be named music director of the San Francisco Opera.
Festival de Lanaudière, Canada’s largest classical music festival, has announced their new executive director, Clément Joubert. He succeeds Xavier Roy, who held the position for the past four years. Joubert has strong ties to the region and attended the festival’s summer camps as a child. He comes to the new position from posts at the McGill Conservatory and Jeunesses Musicales Canada.
Awards
Legendary Canadian soprano Teresa Stratas has been inducted into the OPERA America Hall of Fame. The inductees will be honoured at the OPERA America Salutes Awards Dinner on March 7, 2025, in New York City. “The 2024 Opera Hall of Fame inductees, through their distinguished career achievements and remarkable dedication, have shaped the opera landscape in profound ways,” said Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America.
Stratas began her training at the Royal Conservatory of Music at age 12, and made her professional singing debut on CBC Radio the same year. She launched her professional career at the Toronto Opera Festival in 1958, and won the Metropolitan Opera auditions the next year.
Over a career that spanned three decades, Stratas performed 41 different roles at the Met in more than 385 performances.
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the 2024 winners of the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting and the Virginia Parker Prize. The Jean-Marie Beaudet Award, worth $20,000, has been awarded to Benoit Gauthier, the artistic director and conductor for the Orchestre symphonique de la Côte-Nord. The Virginia Parker Prize—awarded to a talented classical singer, instrumentalist or music conductor younger than 32—is worth $30,000. This year’s winner is Michael Bridge, who plays the acoustic and digital accordion and has performed in Canada, the U.S., Brazil and Poland. In addition to his music career, Bridge has taught master classes in various countries and is a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto.
Competitions
On Oct. 30, Toronto mezzo-soprano Ariana Maubach won first prize ($7,500) and the audience choice prize ($1,000) at the Canadian Opera Company’s 11th annual Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition. Soprano Emma Pennell won second prize ($5,000) and soprano Olivia LaPointe won third prize ($2,500). The competition’s seven finalists were selected from 120 online applicants and 78 live auditions held in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. The competition serves as a final opportunity for COC artistic leadership to hear singers in the multi-stage audition process for the COC’s Ensemble Studio, with final members for the 2025-26 season to be announced at a later date.
Orchestras
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) announced the news that it will continue its almost 80-year legacy after declaring bankruptcy just over a year ago. Their proposal to creditors received unanimous support and was approved by the Superior Court of Ontario. Following this annulment of the bankruptcy, KWS plans to restore its long-standing position as a pillar in the arts and culture community of Waterloo Region. In their press release on this topic, the board and musicians thanked the public for their overwhelming support over the past year.
Retirement
Angèle Dubeau. Photo: Jocelyn Michel
Famed Canadian violinist Angèle Dubeau has announced news of her retirement from performance. A nerve injury to her right index finger has forced her to stop playing. “With a heavy heart, I must accept that I can no longer physically play it. My right hand, specifically my index finger—the master of the bow—has lost its sensitivity and is permanently numb. For 58 years, I have applied pressure and precision to the same spot. The nerve has become worn and severely damaged,” she said.
Throughout her career, Dubeau has been committed to bringing music to a wider audience, transcending borders, generations, and social backgrounds. She has recorded 48 albums, sold more than 650,000 copies, and garnered 230 million streams across various platforms for her entire body of work.
From the vaults
The discovery of a previously unknown waltz by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin has created shockwaves around the world. The waltz was unearthed in the vault of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York. Robinson McClellan, a curator, discovered the manuscript—which was only slightly larger than an index card—in 2019 when he began cataloguing the Arthur Satz Collection. McClellan sought out the expertise of Prof. Jeffrey Kallberg of the University of Pennsylvania to verify the authenticity of the work. Their research, alongside the help of other outside experts, strongly indicates that this one-minute-long waltz was composed by Chopin.
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