News

September 20, 2006
For Immediate Release

Calgary Opera Announces Participants in the Emerging Artist Development Program

Calgary, AB… Eight Canadian singers have been chosen to participate in the first year of the Emerging Artist Development Program, and this October they will begin the first Session in residence at Calgary Opera in their development as professional singers.

Calgary Opera welcomes Sopranos Michelle Keobke (Surrey, BC) and Michelle Minke (Calgary), Mezzo-Sopranos Andrea Hill (Calgary) and Dionne Sellinger (Regina, SK), Tenors Stephen Bell (Vancouver, BC) and Derek Johnson (Calgary), Baritone James Levesque (Calgary), and Bass-Baritone Andrew Love (Calgary).

“I am proud to welcome these eight young artists to the Emerging Artist Development program,” says W.R. (Bob) McPhee, General Director & CEO. “These are some of Canada’s most talented up-and-coming opera singers, and this program will help them develop into the future stars of the Canadian opera stage.”

The curriculum has been prepared by Coordinator Mel Kirby, who has also finalized members of the faculty. The first eight-week session includes training in movement, stage fighting, and acting. The young singers will also receive voice coaching, text and speech study. The first session concludes with a public presentation of scenes from Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. Resident instructors during the first session include Anita Miotti, who will teach dance, body awareness, acting movement, and body/voice integration; Grant Reddick, who will teach acting, text analysis, and speech centered around Shakespeare and Shakespeare operas; and J.P. Fournier, who will teach four weeks of stage fighting and fencing.

The singers’ second session begins in January, 2007, when they will participate in Frobisher staging and music rehearsals, and will be cast in comprimario and understudy roles for the world premiere production.

The final session of the Emerging Artist Development Program begins in March with one week of music preparation and one week staging rehearsal of The Brothers Grimm by Toronto composer Dean Burry for Opera in Schools, a four- week tour through Calgary and southern Alberta schools and communities.

Once the tour is finished, the singers will participate in a week-long composer-librettist workshop on The Hannaraptor, the newly commissioned one act opera for young audiences by Allan Gilliland and Val Brandt.

Calgary Opera thanks Enbridge for their commitment to the development of Emerging Artists in our community, including this program. Calgary Opera also thanks Mary Rozsa de Coquet and Andrea Brussa for supporting our Emerging Artists by being the first to participate in the Adopt-an-Artist fundraising campaign.

For further information, please contact: Brian O'Neill, Calgary Opera 802-3409.