Newsletter • Bulletin Fall 2007 Automne 2007
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NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCIÉTÉ D'OPÉRA DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE 1999 Newsletter • Bulletin Fall 2007 Automne 2007 P.O. Box 8347, Main Terminal, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H8 • C.P. 8347, Succursale principale, Ottawa (Ontario) K1G 3H8 Six Exceptional Finalists Selected for the Brian Law Opera Scholarship Competition by Renate Chartrand A record number of 17 young aspiring opera singers have ap- us this time. He has had a stellar career since winning the plied for the Scholarship Competition to be held on Nov. 24. Brian Law Scholarship in 2003. He was a member of the Our preliminary jurors, who met in early October, were able prestigious Houston Grand Opera Studio, a prizewinner to recommend six finalists to compete for the top prizes. in the 2005 Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition and received several major awards, most recently one worth Jonathan Estabrooks, baritone $15,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts. Last sea- Sharleen Joynt, soprano son he played Masetto in L’Opéra de Montréal’s Don Yannick-Muriel Noah, soprano Giovanni, this season he is Marcello in Houston Grand Kathleen Promane, mezzo-soprano Opera’s La bohème, Papageno in Arizona Opera’s Die Maghan Stewart, soprano Zauberflöte and a soloist in the Messiah at the NAC. Jillian Yemen, mezzo-soprano Finally the great moment of suspense, the an- nouncement of the prizes, will have arrived. The Details of the finalists’ education and operatic ex- winner will be awarded the 1st prize of perience can be found on page 3. $3000 and the runner-up will receive the At the competition they will each per- new 2nd prize of $1500. In addition, a form three operatic arias, at least one preceded 3rd prize of $500 is being donated by by a recitative, with piano accompaniment. our board member, Cavaliere Pat This is a thrilling experience for the members Adamo. of the audience who will certainly try to pick As usual the audience will have the winner. Our distinguished panel of jurors the pleasure of meeting the contes- will include tenor J. Patrick Raftery as well as tants and jurors at the reception that sopranos Christiane Riel and Roxolana Roslak, follows in the adjacent hall. Refresh- on whom we have been able to rely at previous ments will be served and, for those who competitions. Our thanks to them! wish, a cash wine bar will be available. It has become the custom for a previous Joshua Hopkins Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students. winner to entertain us with a special recital of favourite arias For further information you may visit our website at while the jurors retire to choose the winners. We are delighted www.ncos.ca. This promises to be a great evening. Mark to announce that baritone Joshua Hopkins has agreed to join your calendar: Saturday, November 24, 7:30 pm First Unitarian Congregation, 30 Cleary Avenue (off Richmond Rd.) Fall 2007 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Automne 2007 President's Message N.C.O.S. Information It is with great pride that we announce the six finalists for the Brian Law Opera Scholarship and wish to thank Board of Directors the screening jury for their expertise and judgement. It is a pride that all our members can share because of President Murray Kitts donations and support of money-raising projects which Past PresidentBobbi Cain have enabled us to increase the prizes in value and num- Secretary Jean Saldanha ber and thereby attract so many excellent entries. I prom- Membership Jean Saldanha ise you an outstanding competition to which you can Treasurer Gordon Metcalfe invite all your friends to attend. Spread the word. Publicity Renate Chartrand As for Opera alla Pasta, I can promise new fur- Ute Davis nishings, new equipment, and four opera showings that Events Pat Adamo I’m sure you will enjoy along with all the usual good Peggy Pflug food. See you on October 28th. Newsletter David Williams I must pay tribute to Richard Bradshaw, whose contribution to opera has earned him a lasting place in For information: telephone 830-982 the cultural history of Canada. Here in Ottawa, we have email: kmitts1637@ rogers.com lost Kay Millard, one of the most loyal supporters of Opera alla Pasta and Kate Freke, an active member and contributor to our projects. We will miss them all. MISSING: two DVDs loaned at an Opera alla Pasta session. Verdi’s Nabucco - the La Scala production conducted by Muti and Berg’s Wozzek with Hildegarde Behrens. Please check your DVDs and report any finds to Murray Kitts. CREDIT: in the Summer issue we failed to New Members credit David Cooper Photography who was respon- John and Vera-Lee Nelson sible for all the photos that were used in the Pacific Opera Victoria article. Opera Alla Pasta — Sunday Afternoon at the Opera October 28, 2007 Rossini's IL TURCO IN ITALIA The performance starts at 2 P.M. at St. Anthony’s Reservations required: 613-830-9827 or Soccer Club. Dinner follows at 5 P.M. [email protected] 2 Fall 2007 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Automne2007 Finalists for the 2007 Brian Law Competition by Renate Chartrand Baritone Jonathan Estabrooks, 24, began his Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Promane, 29, and a na- musical training as a member of Opera Lyra Ot- tive of Ottawa, earned a Bachelor of Music degree from tawa Boy’s Choir and later the OLO Chorus, while Carleton University. She was a member of Opera Lyra studying voice with Laurence Ewashko. In 2006 he Ottawa’s Young Artist Training Program 2004-2006, received the Bachelor of Music degree from the Uni- playing the male lead in Humperdinck’s Hansel and versity of Toronto. With several scholarships, he is Gretel. Currently she is in her final year in the Opera currently in his second year in the Master’s Degree Diploma Program at the University of Toronto, where program in Vocal Performance/Opera at the Juilliard she was featured in the title role of Britten’s The Rape School in New York, where he will be playing of Lucretia. At the Centre for Opera Studies in Sulmona, Papageno in a production of Die Zauberflöte. On Italy, this summer, she performed lead roles in scenes of Canada Day he was a featured artist at the National operas by Massenet, Mozart and Bellini. Kathleen plans Arts Centre, making his professional orchestra de- to audition for opera companies in several Canadian but. His next goal is to become a member of a young provinces. artist-training program at an opera house in North America. Soprano Maghan Stewart, 29, began her studies with a Bachelor of Voice Performance at the University of Soprano Sharleen Joynt, 23, grew up in Ottawa Toronto and went on to complete the Master of Music and studied with voice teacher Yoriko Tanno. She degree at the University of Ottawa in 2004. She was a moved to Toronto, receiving a Bachelor of Music - member of Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Young Artist Training Voice Performance from The Glenn Gould School Program in 2001-2004 and appeared in Opera Lyra of the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2005. Sharleen productions of Die Zauberflöte, Rigoletto and Salome. continued her studies in New York for another Bach- Currently she is in her second year of a Master in Vocal elor of Music from the Mannes College, The New Arts course at Bard College Conservatory of Music in School for Music, where she is presently in her first Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. She was chosen for the year as a Master’s student. Performances include inaugural class of a new program developed and di- the roles of Damon in Handel’s Acis and Galatea rected by American soprano Dawn Upshaw and granted and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Last April a full scholarship. Last season Maghan was the Regional Sharleen was a prizewinner at the Palm Beach Op- Finalist (New York, NY) of the Metropolitan National era Vocal competition. For next summer she is plan- Council Auditions. ning to travel to Germany to solidify her German. Mezzo-soprano Jillian Yemen, 28, attended Canter- Soprano Yannick-Muriel Noah, 28, began her bury High School for the Arts, then moved to Toronto. voice training in Ottawa with Yoriko Tanno while By 2005 she had received the degrees of Bachelor of studying architecture at Carleton University. In 2005 Music and Master of Music in Operatic Performance she became a member of the Canadian Opera from the University of Toronto. For Opera York she Company’s Ensemble Studio training program and played Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck). continued her voice studies in Toronto with private As a member of OLO Opera Studio, Opera Lyra’s re- singing lessons from Dr. Darryl Edwards and vocal named young artists training program, she has again been coaching from Stewart Hamilton. She is covering Hansel and also performed in Little Red Riding Hood. several lead roles for COC performances, among For OLO main stage productions she has been the un- them Elisabeth in Don Carlos and Tosca, and was derstudy for Rosina, Emilia and Mignon and will cover one of the soloists of the ‘Opera Under the Stars’ Donna Elvira in the upcoming Don Giovanni. Jillian is concert in LeBreton Flats Park in June. In July continuing her studies with voice teacher Neil Semer of Yannick-Muriel won several prizes at the Hans New York, focusing on her technical development and Gaber Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna. exploring new operatic roles. 3 Fall 2007 NEWSLETTER • BULLETIN Automne 2007 Opera Alla Pasta - the new, improved version by Murray Kitts When opera lovers gathered for the final showing of last March 2, 2008 Rimsky-Korsakov: Le coq d’or.