2007 Brian Law Opera Competition
Maureen Forrester, CC OQ, Honorary Patron
The Competition
The 2007 Brian Law Opera Competition took place in .
The prizes were: 1st prize: ; 2nd prize: ; 3rd prize: .
For a history of the competition, a biography of Brian Law and a list of previous winners and their biographies, see the Competition page.
The Evening’s Program
The evening will unfold as follows:
- the competition
- intermission
- while the jury deliberates, the winner of the previous competition, Jonathan Hopkins, baritone, will give a short recital
- announcement of the winners and presentation of prizes
- reception, allowing audience members a chance to meet and talk with the finalists
The Finalists
On 4 October 2007, the preliminary jury chose the following candidates for the competition recital:
Jonathan Estabrooks, baritone
Baritone Jonathan Estabrooks, 24, began his musical training as a member of Opera Lyra Ottawa Boy’s Choir and OLO Chorus while studying voice with Laurence Ewashko. In 2006 he received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto. The recipient of several scholarships, he is currently in his second year in the Master’s Degree program in Vocal Performance/Opera at the Juilliard School in New York, where he will perform the role of Papageno in a production of Die Zauberflöte. On Canada Day he was a featured artist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Pinchas Zukerman; he will be returning here to appear in Ein Deutsches Requiem with Ottawa-based Coro Vivo. Jonathan is a 2007 grant recipient from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation.
Sharleen Joynt, soprano
Soprano Sharleen Joynt, 23, grew up in Ottawa and studied with voice teacher Yoriko Tanno-Kimmons. She moved to Toronto and for two years studied Voice Performance at The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. In 2005, she transferred to the New School for Music at Mannes College in New York, where she earned a Bachelor of Music and is presently in her first year in their Master’s program. Performances include the roles of Damon in Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Last April Sharleen was a prizewinner at the Palm Beach Opera Vocal competition. For next summer she is planning to travel to Germany to solidify her German.
Yannick-Muriel Noah, soprano
Soprano Yannick-Muriel Noah, 28, studied singing in Ottawa, most recently with Yoriko Tanno-Kimmons, and earned a Bachelor of Architectural Studies from Carleton University. In 2005 she became a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio training program and continued her voice studies in Toronto with private singing lessons from Dr. Darryl Edwards and vocal coaching from Stuart Hamilton. She is covering several lead roles for COC performances, among them Elisabeth in Don Carlos and Tosca, and was one of the soloists of the “Opera Under the Stars” concert in LeBreton Flats Park in June. In July Yannick-Muriel won several prizes at the Hans Gaber Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna.
Kathleen Promane, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Promane, 29 and a native of Ottawa, earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Carleton University. She was a member of Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Young Artist Training Program 2004-2006, playing the male lead in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Currently she is in her final year in the Opera Diploma Program at the University of Toronto, where she was featured in the title role of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. At the Centre for Opera Studies in Sulmona, Italy, this summer, she performed lead roles in scenes of operas by Massenet, Mozart and Bellini. Kathleen plans to audition for opera companies in several Canadian provinces.
Maghan Stewart, soprano
Soprano Maghan Stewart, 29, a native of Timmins, began her studies with a Bachelor of Voice Performance at the University of Toronto, completed her Master’s degree at the University of Ottawa, and is continuing her post-graduate work at Bard College Conservatory of Music. As a member of Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Young Artist Training Programme, she appeared in productions of Die Zauberflöte, Rigoletto and Salome. Maghan’s debut at Carnegie Hall was last spring; upcoming New York performances include Finzi’s “In Terra Pax” and a staged recital of American song, “Echoes of the Soul.” She recently received prizes in the Académie Internationale d’Eté de Nice competition and the Canadian Music Competition, as well as a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Jillian Yemen, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Jillian Yemen, 28, attended Canterbury High School for the Arts, then moved to Toronto. By 2005 she had received the degrees of Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Operatic Performance from the University of Toronto. For Opera York she played Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck). As a member of OLO Opera Studio, Opera Lyra’s renamed young artists training program, she has again been Hansel and also performed in Little Red Riding Hood. For OLO main stage productions she has been the understudy for Rosina, Emilia and Mignon and will cover Donna Elvira in the upcoming Don Giovanni. Jillian is continuing her studies with voice teacher Neil Semer of New York, focusing on her technical development and exploring new operatic roles.
The Recitalist
Joshua Hopkins, baritone
While the jury deliberates, our 2003 winner, Joshua Hopkins, will present a short recital.
The Jury
Christiane Riel, Soprano
From http://www.deanartists.com/documents/riel-bio.pdf , November 2007:
Renowned for the intensity and poignancy of her interpretations, Christiane Riel’s remarkable career is built around the most demanding roles in the soprano repertoire. She has been praised from coast to coast for Butterfly and Liu particularly; Montréal’s La Presse noted that “the most remarkable voice (in Turandot) was that of Christiane Riel.” Her interpretation of the doomed peasant girl has also been heard at the New York City Opera (her house debut), the Berkshire Music Festival, and l’Opéra de Montréal.
As a “heartbreakingly believable” Cio Cio San, Ms Riel has been chosen for this role in productions including those at the San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera, West Australia Opera in Perth, Boston Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company. In addition, she has sung the role for the companies of Minnesota, Nashville, Virginia, Edmonton, Saskatchewan and Utah.
She recently added Desdemona (Otello) to her repertoire with performances for l’Opéra de Montréal, and was immediately re-engaged for Nedda in Pagliacci, a role she repeated for Manitoba Opera and for the Edmonton Opera. She also appeared in Vancouver in the VSO’s acclaimed ‘Tea and Trumpets’ series, singing Italian opera highlights. Ms Riel has distinguished herself as Nedda and Mimi for the Edmonton Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Knoxville Opera, Calgary Opera, and the New York City Opera. Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni marked her debut in this role with Opera Ontario; she also performed this role with Pacific Opera Victoria. Christiane Riel has also been heard in concert performances of Mimi in La Bohème with the Newfoundland Symphony. Most recently, she assumed the role of Tosca in productions for Pacific Opera Victoria and at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario. She returned to Victoria in 2006 for the title role in Manon Lescaut.
Among her Canadian Opera Company engagements are the roles of Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Micaëla in Carmen, a role she also sang at New York City Opera. Her debut in the role of Elisabetta had a French twist, as the Canadian Opera Company’s Don Carlo was performed in the original French version.
She was heard with Vancouver Opera as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus and starred in Italian Opera evenings with the Regina and Saskatoon symphonies. Ms Riel has been warmly applauded for her performances with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Windsor Symphony, the Bach-Elgar Choir of Hamilton, the Victoria Symphony, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and l’Orchestre Métropolitain. She has also been featured by Festival d’Eté de Lanaudière, Toronto’s Opera in Concert, the Orford Arts Centre, and Festival International de Musique de Montréal.
The Montréal native is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the first prize in the Young Canadian Mozart Singers Competition and the Canadian Music Competition. She was a member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble and of l’Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal.
Roxolana Roslak, Soprano
Roxolana Roslak’s 1967 portrayal of Marguerite in the Canadian Opera Company’s premiere of Harry Somers’ Louis Riel stirred critics to write glowing reports of the sensational new talent. She became an overnight success and has never looked back. Over the years, Ms Roslak has established a solid reputation of excellence in the United States, England, and Canada, with an impressive list of outstanding opera performances to her credit. She has performed a wide variety of orchestral and oratorio repertoire with world-renowned conductors such as Karl Ancerl, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Andrew Davis, and Robert Craft. In Canada, she has appeared coast-to-coast with many major symphonies, and as guest soloist with several choirs.
Roxolana Roslak was a frequent guest on CBC-TV’s highly-praised Musicamera series, performing with Glenn Gould. This collaboration led to a recording with Mr. Gould of Paul Hindemith’s complete Das Marienleben cycle for CBS records, which in March 1979 won the Juno award for best classical album of the year. Her discography also includes works by Harry Somers such as Louis Riel and The Sacred and the Profane with the Elmer Iseler Singers.
Ms Roslak is a dedicated member of the teaching staff of the Vocal Department of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She adjudicates at music festivals across Canada, serves on Canada Council juries, and appears as guest artist for various master classes across Canada.
Patrick Raftery, Tenor
From http://www.deanartists.com/documents/raftery-bio.pdf, November 2007:
J. Patrick Raftery’s debut was in 1979, when he sang Schaunard in La Bohème, sharing the stage with Luciano Pavarotti. After his years at The Boston Conservatory and The Juilliard School of Music, Mr. Raftery was taken up by The Richard Tucker Music Foundation and C.A.M.I. artists, when his career soared and took him to all the major opera houses of the world in less than a decade, culminating in his debut at the Metropolitan Opera with Mirella Freni in Manon Lescaut.
In August 1992, Mr. Raftery gave his first performances as a tenor at New York’s Avery Fischer Hall in concert performances of Lucio Silla. The 1992/93 season included Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer, Florestan in Fidelio and Max in Jonny Spielt auf, all with the Opera of Leipzig. Immediately, the same company invited him to participate in their 300 year anniversary celebration by singing Grigori/Dimitri in the acclaimed production of Boris Godunov by Oscar-winning director Istvan Szabo.
Mr. Raftery’s debut at La Scala came in the 1993/94 season’s opening production of Spontini’s La Vestale, conducted by Riccardo Muti and recorded live for Sony Classical. That same season, Mr. Raftery debuted in quick succession the roles of Parisifal, Samson, and Siegmund, the latter in the Frankfurt Opera’s critically acclaimed Ring of Herbert Werneke, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling. Mr. Raftery participated in The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden’s world premier of Alexander Goehr’s opera Arianna, Siegmund in Seattle’s Ring, Erik in a new Der Fliegende Holländer for the Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Andrei Kovanski in Kovanschina for The Hamburg State Opera, and the world premier of Salammbo for The Paris Opera. Mr. Raftery has been Tristan for the Operas of Meiningen, Nancy and The Croatian National Theater of Zagreb. The 2004/2005 season included Mr. Raftery’s role debut as Otello for Syracuse Opera; he also filmed the role of Siegmund for a DVD of Wagner’s Ring for the opera of Liège.
The 2006/2007 season found Mr. Raftery reviving Otello for the Opera of Budapest, Sergei (Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk), Siegmund for Oper Wiesbaden and Eisenstein for a new production of Die Fledermaus in Toulouse. A very busy concert artist, most recently Mr. Raftery has been in Barcelona, Palma de Majorca and Granada for Haydn’s Creation and Handel’s Messiah. He joined the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music as a voice instructor in the fall of 2007 and will be returning to the Opera of Monte Carlo as Eisenstein in Fledermaus in the 2007/2008 opera season.