The Artist of the Week is Sri Lankan-born tenor Asitha Tennekoon. He will be the tenor soloist in Symphony Nova Scotia‘s Messiah on December 20th and 21st (tickets and info here).
Asitha is a Dora Award winner and one of Canada’s most versatile singers. This season he was featured in re:Naissance Opera’s world premiere of Eurydice Fragments and will be performing Britten’s War Requiem with Vancouver Bach Choir, St. Matthew’s Passion with Grand Philharmonic Choir and Belonging, a solo recital for Women’s Musical Club of Toronto with pianist Steven Philcox. He is also a co-founder of Toronto-based, indie opera company, Amplified Opera.
This week, Asitha reveals his biggest fears, favourite things about singing with an orchestra and what he’s reading right now. Read on to find out more.
Drink of choice?
A simple whisky sour or a peated scotch, neat.
Heels or flats?
It depends on the rest of the outfit really.
Favourite place?
Up in the mountains or by the water, having some time on my own.
If you weren’t a singer/instrumentalist/
A historian or librarian. Or in an alternate reality with universal basic income, we might all be able to follow the various passions we have as our lives continue evolving.
Who is a singer you admire that is currently working?
Anyone trying to make a career in this business in Canada right now!
What’s the strangest/funniest thing that has happened to you on stage?
There was a performance of Messiah when I was stuck in terrible traffic and walked on stage just as the orchestra started playing “Comfort Ye.”
What’s your favourite thing about singing with an orchestra?
The first rehearsal with an orchestra is always my favourite. I love playing with different vocal colours in response to the orchestration, and that relationship informs so many choices I make in the moment.
What’s something most people don’t know about opera life?
I think it’s beautiful you get to have different chosen families in the cities you travel to, and get to build a different idea of “home” in each place.
What are you afraid of?
Developing a cheese allergy, and a world in which genocide is an accepted form of retaliation.
What is one surprising thing that you have learned in becoming an opera singer?
There are more people than we would like to admit in decision-making positions who are flying by the seat of their pants.
Which album did you listen to last?
Dunya by Mustafa
What book are you reading at the moment?
Poetry: The Affirmations, Luke Hathaway
Fiction: They Both Die at the End, Adam Silvera
Non-Fiction: This is What it Sounds Like, Susan Rogers
Do you have a funny joke for us?
I have a condition where I feel compelled to steal library books.
I should get that checked out.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Treat the beginning of the creative process like an honest journal entry that no one else will ever see.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I love getting to know people and detest industry events where I’m forced to talk to people.
The music industry is tough, and filled with rejection. How do you cope? Does it get easier?
I keep learning to lean into other artistic interests/communities that line up with my values and don’t depend on this business for my self-worth.
What does it mean to be brave with music?
Prioritizing my instincts over what I assume people want to hear.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ASITHA TENNEKOON
VISIT HIS WEBSITE
© Emily Ding
In Opera5’s Turn of the Screw
© Rob Butler
In Little Opera Company’s production of The Magic Flute in Winnipeg
© Diamond’s Edge Photography
At Behind the Keys
Messiah
Symphony Nova Scotia
December 20 & 21
CONDUCTOR: Vicki St. Pierre
SOPRANO: Miriam Khalil
MEZZO-SOPRANO: Christianne Rushton
TENOR: Asitha Tennekoon
BARITONE: Jesse Blumberg
CHORUS MASTER: Joel Tranquilla
Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus
Symphony Nova Scotia
A highlight of the holiday season, Handel’s Messiah is the consummate masterpiece, eliciting joy, triumph, and majesty. This year’s concert will be conducted by Vicki St. Pierre, a contralto and specialist in early music with a doctorate in Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto, who has performed internationally and directed choirs across Canada and the UK. Together with Vicki, four guest vocal soloists, and the 80-voice Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus led by chorus master Joel Tranquilla, we are proud to once again present Handel’s glorious oratorio, a beloved annual tradition and highlight of the Christmas season for millions around the world each year.
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Máiri Demings is Opera Canada’s digital content specialist. She’s also a mezzo-soprano who has sung with Tapestry Opera, performs regularly with VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert and Toronto Operetta Theatre, and is one half of duo mezzopiano with pianist Zain Solinski.
