THE MCPHEE ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
SUPPORTED BY
Each season, Calgary Opera provides up to eight young singers with the opportunity to study and perform under a professional staff of teachers and performers. The program serves as a bridge between academic programs and the professional world of opera, offering the experience and practical skills necessary to succeed as a self-employed artist in a highly competitive international environment.
Calgary Opera commits to empowering all voices, regardless of background or identity and is dedicated to creating a safe space for everyone to feel a keen sense of belonging. We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds who share in our commitment to building an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment.
McPhee Artist Branden Olsen with Tracy Cantin in Carmen, Calgary Opera 2022. Photo by HarderLee Photography.
TO APPLY
Applications for the 2024-2025 McPhee Artist Development Program are now closed.
For more information about the program, please contact:
Mel Kirby
Manager, McPhee Artist Development Program
Phone: 403-802-3405
E-mail
PROGRAMME MCPHEE DE CHEMINEMENT POUR ARTISTES
McPhee Artists Nicole Leung and Justine Ledoux in Carmen, Calgary Opera 2022. Photo by HarderLee Photography.
Chaque année, l’opéra de Calgary offre à huit jeunes chanteur·euse·s l’opportunité d’étudier et de se produire sous la direction d’une équipe de professeur·e·s et d’artistes professionnel·le·s. Le programme sert de transition entre les milieux académiques et professionnels du monde de l’opéra, et donne l’expérience et les aptitudes nécessaires à la réussite d’une carrière dans un environnement international très compétitif.
L’opéra de Calgary s’engage à donner une voix à tous, indépendemment de leur origine ou de leur identé de genre, et se consacre à créer un environnement sain où chacun·e peut trouver sa place. Nous encourageons les candidatures de personnes venant d’horizons divers, qui partagent notre engagement à construire un monde équitable, diversifié et inclusif.
Pour en savoir plus sur le programme, veuillez contacter:
Mel Kirby
Manager, McPhee Artist Development Program
Phone: 403-802-3405
E-mail
INSCRIPTION
Les candidatures pour le programme 2024-2025 sont maintenant fermées.
Calgary Opera
2023-24
McPhee Artists
Nicole Leung
Soprano
Praised for “her natural warmth matched equally by innate lyricism” (Opera Canada), Canadian soprano Nicole Leung was most recently seen as Pamina in The Little Opera Company’s production of The Magic Flute: The Trials of Tamino and Pamina. She returns to Calgary Opera in her second season in the McPhee Artist Development Program. Past season highlights at Calgary Opera include Frasquita (Carmen), Delia in Joe Illick’s Stone Soup, Héro (Béatrice et Bénédict), and La Fée (Cinderella) for their school touring production. A graduate of the Yale School of Music, she was seen as Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Morgana (Alcina), and Rosalba (Florencia en el Amazonas).
Christina Thanisch-Smith
Soprano
Praised for her “shimmering vocals with pitch perfect intonation” and “ringing high notes” (Opera Canada), Christina Thanisch-Smith is establishing herself as one of Canada’s up and coming singers. The Canadian/German soprano is a graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music as a member of Dominique Labelle and Michael McMahon’s respective studios. Last season, Christina was a member of Les Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, a finalist for the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and debuted with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as soprano soloist for Handel’s Messiah. This summer, she will attend the Franz Schubert Institute as an artist in residence. Christina recently made her Maison Symphonique de Montréal debut as the soloist for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, her role debut as Eurydice in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice with Manitoba Underground Opera, and attended Toronto Summer Music Festival as an Art of Song Fellow. While at McGill, she sang the title roles in Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias and Handel’s Partenope with Opera McGill and was a singer for the McGill-UdeM Piano/Vocal Residency. Christina is delighted to join the Calgary Opera’s McPhee Artists for the 2023-24 season.
Justine Ledoux
mezzo-Soprano
Quebec mezzo-soprano Justine Ledoux is known for the sincerity of her singing, her velvety tone, and her extraordinary charisma on stage. She obtained her master’s degree from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and 2023-2024 will be her second season with Calgary Opera’s McPhee Artist Development Program. Select operatic roles include Mercédès in Carmen (G. Bizet); Béatrice and Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict (H. Berlioz); Cendrillon in Cendrillon (J. Massenet), The Stepmother in The Juniper Tree (P. Glass), and Dorabella in Così fan tutte (W.A. Mozart). During her 2023-2024 season with Calgary Opera, she will be performing Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro (W.A Mozart), as well as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold (R. Wagner).
Jillian Clow
mezzo-Soprano
Prince Edward Island mezzo soprano Jillian Clow received her Bachelor of Music studying with Sung Ha Shin-Bouey at UPEI and graduated from UBC with a Master of Music in Opera under the guidance of Rhoslyn Jones. During her time at UBC she appeared as Vera Boronel in Menotti’s The Consul, Dryade in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Tisbe in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and as Zweite Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Additionally, she performed the role of Ramiro in excerpts from Mozart’s Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe and was a soloist in the VSO Traditional Christmas concert series. Jillian spent a summer studying at the Chautauqua Institute of Voice in New York. She was featured in a concert of opera excerpts performed at Under The Spire Music Festival in 2021. Jillian enjoyed time as an artist in residency at the Lunenburg Academy of Music on two separate occasions, and returned to sing the title role in LAMP's production of Rossini's La Cenerentola in 2022. This past year, Jillian has been able to make the most of the return of live music to PEI. She was the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah and Karl Jenkins' Requiem as part of CCOA's Live at the Centre series. She was also the alto soloist in the Island Choral Society's performance of Mozart's Requiem. The highlight of her past year was a solo performance with the PEISO.
Elias Theocharidis
Tenor
Of Greek and Italian descent, tenor Elias Theocharidis has been noted as “…raw… and exuberant”. His recent roles include Malcolm in Calgary Opera’s Macbeth, The Prince in their school tour production of Cinderella adapted by Rob Herriot, Don José in Peter Brook’s La Tragédie de Carmen, Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Mr. Rushworth in the Canadian Premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park, and Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. In 2019, he was the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Toronto Sinfonietta under Matthew Jaskiewicz. He grew up in an artistic family in Toronto, coming from a long line of Broadway performers, classically trained pianists, folk singers, and dancers. This is his second year in the McPhee Artist Development Program.
Arieh Max Sacke
Tenor
Toronto-born tenor Arieh Max Sacke is in his first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program at Calgary Opera. Recent stage credits include Urizen in Allan Bevan’s Perfectly Mad (Orpheus Choir of Toronto/Chorus Niagara), Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Opera by Request), Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola (COSA Canada), the Narrator in Bach’s Coffee Cantata, and Alexis in The Sorcerer (MADS). Arieh was a 2023 Manitoba Opera Digital Emerging Artist, has sung with the Cincinnati Opera chorus, and was previously a Festival Artist with Opera Saratoga, with whom he portrayed Elder Three in Sky on Swings and covered Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. He attained his Master of Music at the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music.
Branden Olsen
Bass-Baritone
Branden Olsen is a rising Atlantic Canadian bass-baritone in his second year of the McPhee Artist Development Program, and is a pedagogical clinician and conductor of exceptional promise. In 2021 Branden won first place (voice) at the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals National Competition. He has a master’s in both choral conducting and voice performance and is currently studying under renowned Canadian tenor David Pomeroy. Branden was honoured to workshop the newly commissioned February with Opera on the Avalon, and also to conduct the Atlantic Boychoir in Cornwall, UK. He was recently seen on the Calgary Opera stage as Servo/Medico (Macbeth), and with the Little Opera Company in Winnipeg as Papageno (The Magic Flute). Branden is proudly sponsored by ArtsNB.
Connor Hoppenbrouwers
Baritone
Baritone Connor Hoppenbrouwers has gained a reputation for the power and beauty behind his voice. Born in Edmonton, Connor started his vocal career under the tutelage of John Tessier and later went on to study with J. Patrick Raftery. Prominent roles for Connor include Paul Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, and Dancaïre in Carmen with Calgary Opera (2022), Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the University of British Columbia Opera Workshop (2021), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with The University of Alberta Opera Workshop (2019) also as a soloist with The Alberta Baroque Ensemble. An avid musician Connor also performs regularly with orchestra and jazz bands as a double bassist.
Group and individual photos of the 2023-2024 McPhee Artists by HarderLee Photography.