Marc Boucher, baritone

Renowned for his intense on-stage presence, his great musical sense and his warm lyrical voice, Canadian baritone Marc Boucher has had an active career for the past decade, taking part in operas, symphonic concerts and recitals with piano.

Layla Claire, soprano

Soprano Layla Claire has been acclaimed as a "focused, remarkably rich soprano," (The Morning Star) and performs with "emotive force and a poised sensitivity", (Palm Beach Daily News). Her interpretations of Mozart’s heroines, including Susanna, Countess, Fiordiligi and Donna Elvira, have drawn attention to her thoughtful characterizations and sheer musicality.

Donato di Gioia, baritone

Born in Campobasso, Italy, Donato di Gioia followed his violin and piano studies with technical voice training under the guidance of Maestro Bruno Praticò and Maestro Paride Venturi. Winner of a stipendium to study at the International Academy of the Theatre of the City of Cagli, Pesaro, Italy. He is continuing his studies with Maestro Melani.

James Dietsch, baritone

James Dietsch is one of America’s leading dramatic artists. He is renowned for his interpretations of the heroic Verdi baritone roles. Having more than one hundred leading roles to his credit among which are his characterizations of such title roles as; Nabucco, Rigoletto, Boccanegra, Falstaff, Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, and Guglielmo Tell.

In North America Mr. Dietsch has appeared with the Washington Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Michigan Opera, Florentin Opera Milwaukee, Minnesota Opera, Dallas Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Hawaii Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Connecticut Opera, L’Opéra de Montréal, the opera companies of Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Regina. In Great Britain he appeared with Opera North and Scottish Royal Opera. In Europe he made many appearances in numerous theaters which include; Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro Bellini di Catana, Teatro La Fenice Venice, Teatro Comunale Firenze, and many more.

Mr. Dietsch has been an artist agent since 1998, having started his own firm called Pro Arte Internationale. In the year 2000, Mr. Dietsch began a collaboration with John Miller starting the agency Miller and Dietsch, Inc., which eventually became Pinnacle Arts. He was Director of the Munich Office. In 2006, he started his own artist agency under the name Dietsch International Associates, Ltd., and serves as President. He opened five offices located in Munich, New York, Wien, Sophia, and Majorca. The organization started its own concert agency, Public Relations Agency, DIAL Classics, a recording agency, and Event Productions organization.

Today Dietsch International has nine offices and is ever expanding. In addition, the organization has created Festival Opera Majorca. The agency now represents General Directors, Opera Directors, General Music Directors and many opera house staff conductors. There is special emphasis on Conductors, Stage Directors, Singers, and Composers.

Vitalij Dudkin, tenor

Vitalij Dudkin was born in Donetsk, Ukraine in 1979. He began his musical education in a local children's music school at the age of seven. After graduating from Donetsk Music College as a choirmaster in 1988, he entered the Donetsk Music Academy to continue his education in choir directing. In 2000, he majored in conducting and voice, completing his degree in conducting in 2003 and in voice in 2005. Since 2004, he has been a soloist at Solovianenko Opera and Ballet Theatre in Donetsk. In 2006, Mr. Dudkin received an award at a competition for best young opera performer, after his outstanding debut in the National Opera House as Bogun in the famous Ukrainian opera Bogdan Chmelnitsky by Dankevich, which was shown on National TV. The same year the same role brought him First Place in a national singing competition. In June 2006, he performed the part of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with the famous opera singer Manama Hama as his leading lady. Mr. Dudkin is also starting to embark on a promising international career.

Shawne Elizabeth, soprano

Shawne Elizabeth possesses immense vocal flexibility and accuracy combined with a vast range of musical style and repertoire. She is at home performing for intimate groups of 30 as she is in the 900 seat Centrepointe Theatre or the 2000 seat National Arts Centre.

Lara Ferreira, soprano

Lara Ferreira is a young and gifted soprano who exudes charm, passion, and charisma. Her varied style has taken her from folk to classical to operatic repertoire. She has recently performed in Bytown Operaworks' Opera Night in Ottawa, appearing in several roles including Isabelle/Madeline (Face on the Barroom Floor), Mme Silberklang (The Impresario), Musetta (La Bohème), and Gianetta(L'Elisir d'Amore). She has also performed at the Ottawa Polish Festival, the Maison du Citoyen (Hull, Quebec), and various charity events throughout Ottawa. Lara has studied voice for several years under Maria Knapik as well as at the University of Toronto under Mary Morrison.

Lara grew up in a very musical family, joining her three elder siblings in violin studies at the age of five. She has played in various chamber music groups over the years, and has won several gold medals during the Kiwanis Music Festival competition both as a soloist and with chamber music groups. Lara continues to share her passion for music through singing.

Antonio Figueroa, tenor

Appreciated for his deep musicality, Antonio Figueroa recently made his debut in Avignon, singing Nadir in LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES. Winner of multiple awards and prizes, in the summer of 2006 the young Montrealer was honored with the Silverman prize for his remarkable interpretation of Belmonte (DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL) at the International Vocal Art Institute (IVAI) in Tel-Aviv.

Gianfranco Pappalardo Fiumara, piano

A concert pianist, and a Professor of Music at both the Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi in Milan and the Kore University of Enna, Mr. Gianfranco Pappalardo Fiumara is also the artistic director of both the Festival Anthony Ghislanzoni of Bergamo and the International Studio of Music at the Kore university of Enna, overlooking concert activities for both the orchestra and the choir. Based in Milan, Cagliari and Catania, Mr. Pappalardo Fiumara arrived at a high level of musical maturity under the direction of pianist Vincenzo Balzani and pianist/composer Bruno Canino.

Sandra Graham, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Sandra Graham has established a worldwide reputation after winning top prizes in the International Vocal Competitions of s'Hertogenbosch in Holland, the Montreal International Competition, and the Toulouse, France International Vocal Competition. She also received first place in the Canadian Opera Company Mozart Competition and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, and was awarded the Canada Council Virginia P. Moore award for these accomplishments.

Stephen Hegedus, bass-baritone

Bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus has been described as “a singer of enormous promise.” His concert and oratorio work include appearances with Les Violons du Roy, the Aldeburgh Connection, the Lamèque International Baroque Festival, La Sinfonia de Lanaudière, the Metropolitan United Church Choir and Orchestra (Toronto), and the Macmillan Singers. He also appeared at the International Bach Festival in Toronto (2005 and 2006) under Helmuth Rilling.

His operatic credits include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia, Colline in La Bohème, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Falstaff in Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, and Betto and The Notary in Gianni Schicchi. In 2007/2008, as a first-year member of Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, he appeared as Silvano (Un ballo in maschera), Gregorio (Roméo et Juilette), Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Don Inigo Gomez (L’Heure espangole) and Il Commissario (Madama Butterfly).

Performances in 2009 include as The Murderer in Macbeth with Opéra de Montréal, Don Alfonso in Cosí fan tutte with Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, Messiah with the San Antonio Symphony and La Sinfonia de Lanaudière, and an appearance at the Opéra de Montréal Gala.

Mr. Hegedus has received numerous awards and grants. In 2008, he was the second place winner of the Society’s Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition.

Jill La Forty, CBC Radio

Jill LaForty pursued studies in clarinet performance at both the University of Toronto and the Vienna Conservatory. Upon returning to Canada, she traded her reeds in for a microphone and has been working with CBC Radio ever since.

Jill is presently the executive producer for the Performance Department at CBC Ottawa responsible for 30 hours of programming a week on Radio1 and 2. Over the years she’s helped bring Ottawa’s music scene to the country by organizing and/or recording hundreds of concerts.

Jill is a great believer that classical music is an accessible art form. She created the popular series The Concerto according to Pinchas and The Concerto according to Manny, both hosted by Eric Friesen. Her weekly column on Ottawa Morning brought the inspirational and entertaining stories of Ottawa musicians to a Radio 1 audience.

Her latest challenge came this fall when she was asked to lead Radio 2’s new 5 hour classical program Tempo with host Julie Nesrallah, heard weekdays at 10.

Kerson Leong, violin

Kerson Leong is 12 and has already won the Grand Prize at the Canadian Music Competition for four straight years, each time achieving the highest mark of any age group or instrument. In the recent 2008 competition in Quebec City, the judges awarded him a mark of 99% for his stunning performance. He was recognized in the Galaxie Rising Star Program of the CBC and was also the youngest finalist in the 2006 nationwide CBC Mozart Variation Contest held to celebrate Mozart’s 250th birthday anniversary.

Kerson and his brother were recently invited by Maestro Pinchas Zukerman to perform with him and the NAC Orchestra at the 2008 NAC Gala in Ottawa. He has also appeared as soloist with I Musici de Montreal, and with Maestro Boris Brott at the NAC Southam Hall. He recently performed at the 2008 Ottawa Chamberfest and has also performed at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

Kerson studies violin with Serhii Vyhovskyi at Tutti Muzik in Ottawa. He was a recent participant of the 10th Annual NAC Young Artist Program. His other musical interests include conducting, performing chamber music with his brother and mum, and playing jazz on the clarinet. He enjoys creative writing and drawing, and was the top student in his class at Ashbury College for the past two years. He also enjoys all kinds of sports, especially swimming and badminton.

Stanley Leong, cello

Stanley Leong is 14 and has been a top prizewinner at the Canadian Music Competition for 6 years in a row. At the recent 2008 competition in Quebec City, he won First Prize again and made his solo debut at the CMC Gala with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Yoav Talmi.

Stanley and his brother were recently invited by Maestro Pinchas Zukerman to perform with him and the NAC Orchestra at the 2008 NAC Gala in Ottawa. He has also appeared as soloist with I Musici de Montreal, and with Maestro Boris Brott at the NAC Southam Hall. He recently performed at the 2008 Ottawa Chamberfest and has also performed at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. He was an invited soloist at the HOMMAGE À OLIVIER MESSIAEN event organized by Carleton University in December 2008.

Stanley studied cello with Anne Contant for the past eight years and is currently studying with Paul Marleyn. He is a recent participant of the 10th Annual NAC Young Artist Program.

In his spare time, Stanley enjoys learning and experimenting with the distinctive harmonies of jazz on his own, improvising on the blues, bebop, and all kinds of jazz styles on trumpet and the piano. He loves finding connections between different subjects, enjoying science and mathematics as well as English. He currently attends Ashbury College, where he received the highest academic standing at his recent grade 8 graduation. He also enjoys his intensive weekly training in badminton and swimming.

Stanley gratefully acknowledges the Young String Performers’ Foundation for the loan of his cello previously belonging to the late Pawel Szymczyk-Marjanovic.

Little Belcanto Children Choir

These talented young singers came together in 2000 as members of the Polish Community in Ottawa to perform and share their love of music with others. The ensemble has since expanded their repertoire to include music sung in English, French and Latin. This gifted group of six- to fourteen-year-old girls has performed at numerous festivals, liturgical events and charity concerts. Maria Knapik is the patron of this group and inspires each member to let their light shine for the benefit of all those around them.

Stefano Memma, tenor

Born in Italy, Stefano emigrated first to Germany and then to Belgium where he obtained education in civil engineering. At the age of 25, he discovered his "voice" while studying at Conservatorio Reale di Liegi (Belgio) and the Conservatorio Reale di Bruxelles. He has performed at all the French theatres including Rennes, Rouen, Troyes, Nice, Dijon, Marseille and Paris. He was invited to sing along with Renato Bruson in the Traviata at the l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo. For the past few years, he has been invited to sing throughout Italy at numerous concerts such as l'Elisir d'Amour et Giulio Cesare at Pesaro, Rodolfo dans la Bohéme, Requiem de Mozart at Arezzo. His repertoire consists of: romantic and comic operas and vienniese operettas including La Bohéme (Puccini), La Traviata (Verdi), Mireille (Gounod), Le Prince Igor (Borodine), Le Pays Sourire and la Veuve Joyeuse (Léhar) and many more. He was chosen by the Minister of Cultural Affaires (Italy) to represent Italy in South America (Argentine, Brésil, Vénézuela). In 2004-2005 he sang at the Terme di Caracalla-Roma and at concerts in Canada and USA. His recordings include: Mélodiesde Tosti with David Miller, L'Ile de Tulipan by Offenbach and Lucie de Grétry with l'Orchestre de Liège.

Steeve Michaud, tenor

Canadian tenor Steeve Michaud has earned much acclaim for his charisma and intense interpretation of the romantic repertoire, in recital as well as at the opera, and is known for his “rich, authentic lyrico spinto tenor voice.”

Julie Nesrallah, mezzo-soprano

The dark-haired, dark-eyed Nesrallah is a riveting performer. Her head-turning looks certainly help, but the real magic lies in her voice, which is not just good, but astonishing: full and dusky, with power at the top end and dark appeal at the bottom.

Ivanka Ninova, mezzo-soprano

Ivanka Ninova was born in the town of Vidin, Bulgaria. She started her music education in the music-school in her native town and later on was graduated from the Music Academy in Sofia, in the class of Prof. Lili Stefanova. In the year 1989 she won laureate place in the "Verdi voices" Competition held in Busseto, Italy. Since the same year she has been a soloist in the National Opera Theater in Sofia where has assumed the central mezzo-soprano repertoire.

James O’Farrell, tenor

James O’Farrell has been working as a professional musician and teacher since 1990. During that time he has performed extensively both as a jazz saxophonist and a classical singer (tenor). As a singer, James has performed with Opera Lyra Ottawa (1997-2001) as a chorus member and singing small roles. In December 2000, he performed the role of Don Ramiro (Prince Charming) from Rossini’s Cinderella with Opera Lyra’s Young Artist Program.

Maria Pellegrini, soprano

Maria Pellegrini is one of the world's brightest stars. She enjoys a brilliant career which has taken her to the leading opera houses and concert halls of Europe, Great Britain, Canada, United States, Asia, and the Caribbean including Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Royal Albert Hall, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Felice di Genoa, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Massimo di Catania, Taormina, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, New York City Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Baltimore Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, L'Opera de Montreal, Teatro del' Opera di Santo Domingo, Taipei Opera Festival among many others. She has performed with leading orchestras including BBC Symphony, Royal Opera House Orch, London Philharmonic Orch, Cincinnati Symphony Orch, Montreal Symphony, National Arts Centre Orch etc...

Daniele Petralia, piano

Daniele Petralia (born in Catania, 1973) has got the degree with the maximum marks at the Bellini Conservatory under the teacher Giuseppe Cultrera’s direction, after he continued his improving at the SommerAkademie Mozarteum of Salszburg and at the S. Cecilia Academy in Rome with Sergio Perticaroli who defined him a very talented pianist and excellent artist with a special music projection...

Fraser Rubens, tenor

Dr Fraser Rubens was selected as one of the Canadian competitors in the International Glory of Mozart Competitionin 1991. He is currently studying with the Neil Semer in New York.

He has appeared as a soloist in productions with Opera Lyra Ottawa and Co-Opera Canada and he has an extensive experience as a soloist in German and English. He has performed as a guest soloist with Ottawa's Thirteen Strings in Viennese operetta at the prestigious Winter Ball at the National Gallery and with soprano Stephanie Brill and pianist Jean Desmarais in the group Bel Canto Dottori. He has given solo concerts in California, Germany and Austria.

He has recently produced his first CD with pianist Jean Desmarais (Bel Canto Dottore). He has also premiered the cycle "Three Songs for the Heart" for tenor and orchestra, dedicated to him by Canadian composer Peter Willsher.

Dr. Rubens is a full clinical professor in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. His musical work has resulted in donation revenues in excess of $150,000 for community charity, clinical care and research and his parallel musical and surgical careers have been featured in the documentary series The Surgeons on the Discovery Health channel.

Marie-Hélène Trempe, piano

Judith Vachon, soprano

Judith Vachon, soprano, has been heard at the National Gallery of Canada for broadcast on CBC Radio Two and is a long time member of the Opera Lyra Ottawa chorus. Judith has performed as a soloist with ensembles and choirs such as Seventeen Voyces, Savoy Society of Ottawa and Kanata Choral Society, has appeared in various recital series such as Sunday After noon at Cleary Hall (Ottawa) and Summer Recital Series at St. George's Cathedral (Kingston) and performed with the Divertimento Orchestra.

Judith's great love for duet and small ensembles led to her forming two ensembles - Tria - two voices and keyboard and Trio Alegria - voice, flute and piano. Both groups have performed in Ottawa areas, and have been recorded for broadcast by CBC radio.

Judith is a church soloist and teaches voice privately in Kanata. Her love of the stage is very apparent in her studio shows - the ushers' costuming, created for her by Maria de Fatima Machado, were used in June 2007 in her studio production "Happy Ever After".

Judith has studied voice with Charlotte Stewart and Joan Maxwell (Ottawa), Victor Martens (Orford and Wilfrid Laurier University) and Maria Knapik (Ottawa).

Vasyl Vasylenko, conductor

Vasyl Vasylenko is currently the Music Director and Principal Conductor of The State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Donetsk, Ukraine. He is also the former General Director and Artistic Manager of the Odessa State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Conductor of The Kharkiv state Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. Maestro Vasylenko is the President of Prokofiev Charity Fund, a member of the Presidium of the International Union of Musicians and a member of the National Council on Culture and Spiritual Values under the President of Ukraine. Maestro Vasylenko is a published poet and an Honored Artist of Ukraine. He was awarded the title The Leader of XXI Century and The Order of Merits, III Class.

Francesco Verrecchia, tenor

Born in Montreal, Francesco Verrecchia is a clarion tenor with a celebrated career in Canada, Europe, and America. He possesses an Italianate voice of rare beauty, color, and ease supported by a masterful technique ideally suited to operatic roles, sacred music, and the Italian popular classics. With his soulful vocal versatility, Francesco keeps the “old neighborhood alive” when he pours out his heart singing the Neopolitan classics he learned from his father who emigrated from Cassino, Italy to Montreal in the early sixties.