The Artist of the Week is mezzo-soprano Pascale Spinney, who will be making her role debut as Rosina in Opéra de Montréal‘s Il barbiere di Siviglia from September 28th to October 6th.
Pascale has been very busy at home and abroad creating a number of new roles. In the 2023/24 season, these included Countess Ebba in La Reine-Garçon with Opéra de Montréal, Jane in February with Opera On the Avalon and Donna Elvira in Domme + Giovanni (a reimagining of Don Giovanni) with White Snake Projects. The 2024/25 season will also have Pascale retuning to St. Pete Opera to reprise the the title role in Pinocchio.
This week, we sat down with Pascale to talk about her first singing lesson, favourite places and singers she admires.
When was your first singing lesson (and with whom)?
I had my first classical singing lesson at age 16 and it was with Hasmig Injejikian from the McGill Music Conservatory.
Drink of choice?
Currently, I live off H2O with Liquid IV.
Heels or flats?
Heels have my heart, but you’ll find me more often in flats.
Favourite city that you’ve worked in?
It may sound biased, but it truly is Montreal.
Favourite place?
Bali!
If you weren’t a singer, you’d be…?
A lawyer or a psychologist.
Top 3 favourite composers?
Verdi, Strauss, Mozart.
Which opera role do you want to be singing right now?
Charlotte.
Which opera role do you want to be singing in 10 years?
Eboli.
Who is a singer you admire that is currently working?
Isabel Leonard.
Who is a singer you admired from the past?
Maria Callas.
Tent or hotel?
Hotel.
What are you afraid of?
Spiders.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee.
What was the first opera you ever saw?
Don Pasquale.
Where did you go to school?
McGill University and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.
Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Dogs are cool, but I’m definitely a cat person.
What was your childhood dream job?
Astronaut.
Are you happiest in the country or the city?
In the city.
Which TV show did you binge-watch last?
Monk
LEARN MORE ABOUT PASCALE SPINNEY
VISIT HER WEBSITE
© Just JAMi Photography
Carmen with Glacier Symphony Orchestra in Kalispell, Montana
© Vivien Gaumand
Reine-Garçon at Opéra de Montréal
Il barbiere di Siviglia
Opéra de Montréal
September 28 – October 6
CONDUCTOR: Pedro Halffter
FIGARO: Hugo Laporte
ROSINA: Pascale Spinney
COUNT ALMAVIVA: Alasdair Kent
BASILIO: Gianluca Margheri
BERTA: Sharon Azrieli
BARTOLO: Omar Montanari
ORCHESTRE MÉTROPOLITAIN
OPÉRA DE MONTRÉAL CHORUS
ASSOCIATE STAGE DIRECTOR: Xevi Dorca
SETS AND COSTUMES: Joan Guillen
ORIGINAL LIGHTING: Albert Faura
LIGHTING FOR MONTREAL: Anne-Catherine Simard-Deraspe
The first play of a comic trilogy (Beaumarchais) that shocked the 18th-century elite is the basis of Rossini’s masterpiece The Barber of Seville. Teeming with action and bursting with unforgettable melodies, this opera is sure to make you break out into laughter. In the whimsical approach of stage director Joan Font and the Spanish troupe Els Comediants, this production cleverly incorporates some circus arts, acrobatics, and pantomime. For the occasion, the Orchestre Métropolitain will reunite with Spanish conductor Pedro Halffter who conducted the OM in Madama Butterfly in 2023.
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