2017 marks the 18th annual Opera Canada Awards, The Rubies, and among this year’s honourees is soprano Karina Gauvin. With an international career spanning over 25 years, she met with Richard Turp to discuss her achievements for the upcoming issue of Opera Canada. Gauvin opened up about her work ethic, her life before opera, and how she turns her challenges into successes.
“I believe firmly that as a singer, one genre nurtures another and helps you stay vocally and musically fresh. The voice is the human being and one of my major challenges is how I take care of both.”
Karina Gauvin in the title role in Boston Early Music Festival’s 2005 production of ‘Ariadne’
“…I’ve never thought in terms of three or five-year career plans, mine has always been a more organic vision of my craft, of my artistic life. It is a life-long journey. I’ve lived through a number of personal difficulties that helped me understand, discover and learn much more about myself.”
Karina Gauvin (center) as Venus and Carolyn Sampson (left) as Psyche in Boston Early Music Festival’s 2007 production of ‘Psyche’
“I have always searched and sought to grow personally through my art. I have worked for my own long-term and I simply wish the musical world would abandon this idea of ‘novelty’ being the answer to all difficulties…I prefer the authentic solution that will, in the long-term, engage and win out.”
Photo: Julien Faugère
The full feature on Karina Gauvin will be available in the upcoming Rubies edition of Opera Canada, out in late October.
Gauvin is an honouree this year alongside conductor Yves Abel and director/teacher Michael Patrick Albano.
This year’s Rubies will be held on October 30 at the First Canadian Place in Toronto. For more information on The Rubies or for tickets please visit operacanada.ca/rubies.
Angela Bell is Opera Canada’s Digital Media Specialist. She has held digital and PR roles with various businesses including the Walt Disney Company, Sullivan Entertainment and Toronto International Film Festival.
