Festival de la Voix is approaching its 10th anniversary and we are celebrating this occasion with an exceptional concert featuring two internationally renowned Canadian opera singers!
PLEASE NOTE: ALL TICKETS PURCHASED FOR THE ORIGINAL CONCERT DATE (NOV. 6, 2022) WILL BE HONOURED.
Claire de Sévigné
Hailed for her “sparkling top notes and vocal brilliance, lightness and finesse” (Neue Musikzeitung) Canadian soprano Claire de Sévignéis enjoying an exciting and diverse career. Named one of CBC’s Top Young Canadian Classical Musicians, Ms. de Sévigné was recently nominated for a Classical Album of the Year JUNO award for her album of Vivaldi Cantatas.
In the 2022-23 season, Ms. De Sévigné will appear with the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier and Pacific Opera Victoria. In concert, she performs at the Lausitz Festival with the Symphoniker Hamburg as well as with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
Recent engagements have included performances with the Ópera National de Lyon, Opera Anger, Nantes Opéra, Opera Toulon, Opéra d’Avignon, Lucerne Opera House and the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
In the 2019-20 season, Ms. de Sévigné was a member of the core Ensemble with the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She is also a young artist graduate from the Zurich Opera House (2018), the Salzburg Young Singers Project (2016) and the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble (2015).
Other operatic engagements have included performances with the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, the Salzburg Festival, a tour of China with the Salzburg Festival in collaboration with the Hantang International Music Festival, the Mozarteum Orchestra in Spain, Edmonton Symphony, Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the Grant Park Music Festival of Chicago, the Elora Festival of Canada, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and concerts for Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and Opéra de Québec.
Ms. de Sévigné has been awarded accolades by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition, the Montreal International Competition, Vancouver Opera Guild, the Christina and Louis Quilico Competition, the Marcello Giordani Foundation, the International Vocal Competition and the Annual COC Ensemble Studio Competition.
The Montreal native is proud to be supported by the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, SSHRC Bombardier Master’s Research Grant, the Canadian Opera Volunteer Committee as well as the Leanara Foundation in Zürich.
Danielle MacMillan
Italian-Canadian Mezzo Soprano, Danielle MacMillan was a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. Ms. MacMillan made her Canadian Opera Company debut as the Second Niece in Britten’s Peter Grimes. She holds a bachelor of fine arts, with honours, in classical vocal performance from York University, with additional training at Istituzione Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto, in Italy and The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music.
Her credits include Diana in La Calisto, Cavalli, Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Mozart, Véronique in Le docteur Miracle, Bizet (GGS), Annio in La clemenza di Tito, Mozart (COSI), Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart and Siebel in Faust, Gounod (HOS). Ms.MacMillan also appeared as Dorabella in the COC’s Ensemble Studio production of Cosí fan tutte, Mozart, and covered the role of Garcias in Don Quichotte, Massenet (COC). Ms. MacMillan joined Palm Beach Opera’s Benenson Young Artist Program in 2015 where she covered the roles of Mercedes in Carmen, Bizet and Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Strauss.
In their 2016/17 season Ms. MacMillan covered Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Puccini; Giovanna, and sang Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, Verdi; and Edith in Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan. Danielle is a recipient of the IRCPA Maureen Forrester Scholarship, a winner of the St. Andrews Arts Council Aria Competition and a Regional Finalist prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Denver, Colorado. Ms. MacMillan
returned to Palm Beach Opera as Cherubino in their 2018 season of Le nozze di Figaro and in 2019, making her role debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni.
After it’s reveal at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts in 2017, Danielle revived the role of Agni in Against the Grain Theatre’s production of Kopernikus by Claude Vivier in April 2019; and appeared for an tenth season with the Toronto Classical Singers in Mendelssohn’s Elijah as The Angel in May. June 2019 marked Ms. MacMillan’s debut of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the NYCO and her participation in the NAC’s chamber festival. Ms. MacMillan took first place at the Clifford Poole Vocal Competition with the CBSO in Toronto and returned to sing with the TCS in Schubert’s Mass in C, March 2020.
Ms. MacMillan made her debut in October with Opera Atelier, in their filmed production of “Something Rich & Strange” and looks forward to celebrating a future debut as Flora in La Traviata with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and Wellgunde in Das Rheingold with Opera Nashville.
Accompanied by Stéphane Mayer
Pianist and composer Stéphane Mayer has quickly been establishing himself as one of Canada's premier up and coming artists. A graduate of the COC ensemble, Stéphane has served as a rehearsal pianist and member of music staff for The Magic Flute, Eugene Onegin and Arabella among many other productions at the Canadian Opera Company. He has also served as an opera répétiteur for productions of La Bohème (Edmonton Opera), Louis Riel (Opéra de Québec), Missing (Pacific Opera Victoria), The Rocking Horse Winner (Tapestry Opera) and Ours (Opera on the Avalon). An accomplished art-song recitalist, Stéphane has studied with noted interpreters of German Lied, including Elly Ameling, Robert Holl, Julius Drake, Andreas Schmidt and Roger Vignoles at the Franz-Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wien, Austria. A graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, Stéphane also worked as a vocal coach and accompanist at Western University.
Did you know? We fundraise with Zeffy to ensure 100% of your purchase goes to our mission!