Julie Nesrallah

1997 Winner of the Brian Law Opera Scholarship Competition

From the program notes to the Reception with Gerald Finley, held 21 September 2006:

“Ms. Nesrallah is a fast-rising mezzo-soprano with a rich, warm, powerful voice and a charismatic stage presence.” The Ottawa Citizen

Whether on the opera stage, performing oratorio, recital or symphonic works, cabaret, or Argentine tangos, Julie Nesrallah is an extremely versatile singer and actress, at ease in all styles. Described by Artistic Director Timothy Vernon as a “future supernova,” Julie has achievements and standards of musical excellence established across the continent and abroad, dazzling audiences with her rich tone, engaging personality and deeply expressive communicative skills. Julie is cast in principal roles by leading opera companies across North America and abroad. Roles include Carmen (Carmen), Isabella (L’Italiana in Algeri), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Der Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Meg Page (Falstaff), Anita (West Side Story), Jocasta (Oedipus Rex), Miss Todd (Old Maid and the Thief), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Queen Elizabeth (Maria Stuarda), Queen Henrietta (I Puritani), First Maid (Elektra), the Young Mozart (The Jewel Box) and the Old Woman (The Death of Enkidu).

In 2005/2006 Julie débuted in recital at the Macau International Music Festival, sang Kate Pinkerton for Opera Hong Kong, performed Meg Page for Opera Lyra Ottawa’s production of Falstaff and débuted with Opera Theatre North at Ravinia. In summer 2006, she will perform for the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, the Guelph Spring Festival (Artist In Residence), the Boré Arts Festival in Montreal, and for a co-production of I Puritani with Festival Vancouver and Vancouver Opera.

Next season, Julie débuts with Syracuse Opera singing the title role in Carmen, will record a CD with harpist Caroline Léonardelli (Centaur label), début with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and with the Strings of St. John in Ottawa.

Julie is also part of a duo with classical guitarist Daniel Bolshoy. The Nesrallah/Bolshoy Duo has performed across Canada including Ottawa, Vancouver, Merritt, Courtenay, Haliburton, Huntsville, Winnipeg, and at the prestigious Glenn Gould Studio in a concert for national broadcast by CBC Radio. They recently released their new CD, España, and have been featured in a Bravo!TV documentary, The Classical Now. In 2006/2007, the Nesrallah/Bolshoy Duo perform for the Boré Arts Festival in Montreal, the Vancouver Chamber Festival, and will embark on a recital tour of British Columbia in January 2007.

Symphonic engagements include performances with the Montreal Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony, the Laval Symphony, the Kingston Symphony, the Victoria Symphony, the Cedar Rapids Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, L’Orchestre Métropolitain, the Toronto Philharmonia and the Plattsburgh Symphony. Renowned ensembles include the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Orford Wind Quintet, La Pietà, the Montreal Guitar Trio, and the Molinari String Quartet who recorded a CD with Julie as the multi-role soloist for R. Murray Schafer’s tour de force Beauty and the Beast, which won the 2002/2003 Opus Prize for Record of the Year, Modern and Contemporary Category.

Summer festivals include the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Vancouver Chamber Festival, the Huntsville Arts Festival, the Orford Summer Festival, Les Concerts des Iles-du-Bic, the Lanaudière International Music Festival, Nova Scotia’s Musique Royale and the Indian River Summer Music Festival in Prince Edward Island.

Julie has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and grand prizes, including the Canada Council for the Arts Emerging Artist Award, Le Cercle des Cents Associés Grand Prize Winner, the Brian Law Opera Scholarship Competition Grand Prize Winner and Les Journées de la Musique Française Grand Prize Winner. She has also been invited to sing for several high-profile events including the Opera Canada Awards, “An Evening for Peace” in Montreal for HM Queen Noor of Jordan, and, in 2004, was invited to perform for HRH Princess Haya in Amman, Jordan, launching an endowment fund for underprivileged girls to study music in Canada.

For more information on Julie’s career, see her web page.