THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2019-2020 49
Canadian soprano
Hélène Brunet is
hailed by critics as “a
singer of tremendous
quality” with “a voice
of perfect beauty”
and “sincere expression.”
Recognized
for her interpretations
of the works
of Bach, Handel
and Mozart, her
repertoire extends
from the Baroque
to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Brunet has been invited to perform with reputed
orchestras and ensembles across North
America, notably American Bach Soloists in San
Francisco, American Classical Orchestra at the
Lincoln Center in New York City, the Seattle Baroque
Orchestra and the Pacific Baroque Festival.
Prestigious distinctions include the Johannes Somary
Award at the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo
Competition at Carnegie Hall, an Opus Prize for
the baroque Concert of the Year with ensemble
Caprice and her performance as Abra in Vivaldi’s
Juditha Triumphans, and a Juno Award for the Classical
Vocal Album of the Year with the album Las
Ciudades de Oro. Her latest recording project, an
album of Bach Cantatas, was released in 2018.
In opera, she recently sang in Lully’s Persée in Toronto
and on tour at the Royal Opera House of the Château
de Versailles with the famed Opera Atelier. In Tel
Aviv, she sang the role of Laurette in Bizet’s Le Docteur
Miracle, and in Montreal, she sang the role of Galatea
in Handel’s Acis and Galatea. She was featured in
the world premiere of the opera Sleeping Rough.
Brunet is a recipient of a professional development
grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. She is
currently studying with voice teacher Neil Semer
who is based in New York City.
A unique vocal color
and commanding
stage presence are
the hallmarks of
performances by
mezzo-soprano Allyson
McHardy. Hailed
by Joshua Kosman
of the San Francisco
Chronicle as “a singer
of enormous imagination
and versatility,”
she has appeared
with the Paris Opera,
Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony, St. Louis
Orchestra, Glyndebourne Festival, San Francisco
Opera, Boston Symphony, Canadian Opera Company,
Les Violons du Roy, Warsaw Philharmonic,
Philadelphia Opera and Théâtre capitole du Toulouse.
Adam Fischer, Seiji Ozawa, Jeremy Rohrer,
Kent Nagano, Emmanuelle Haim, Bernard Labadie,
Trevor Pinnock, Ludovic Morlot, Carlos Kalmar, and
Johannes Debus are among the conductors with
whom she has collaborated for performances of
works such as L’enfant et les sortilèges, La clemenza
di Tito, Matthäus Passion, Das Rheingold, The Dream
of Gerontius and Messiah.
A native of the province of Ontario, her career is a
carefully curated balance of opera and concert repertoire
that moves easily from early music to the
music of our time. The current season includes performances
with Music of the Baroque, Opera Atelier,
Victoria Symphony, Opéra de Québec, The Florida
Orchestra and the Newfoundland Symphony in music
of Bach, Mahler, Wagner and Handel. McHardy
made her Chinese debut in Robert Carsen’s production
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and was
heard in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the Grant
Park Festival in Chicago. Further credits include
Ligeti’s Requiem with the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the
Vancouver Symphony, and a staged production of
Mozart’s Mass in D Minor for the Toronto Symphony.
She currently lives in Toronto with her husband and
daughter.
HÉLÈNE BRUNET
Soprano
ALLYSON McHARDY
Mezzo-Soprano