Celebrated for her warm, expressive voice and dramatic immediacy, soprano Frédérique Vézina has earned acclaim on concert and opera stages in Canada and internationally. After completing her Voice Studies at McGill University in Montreal, she joined the prestigious Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio in 2002. This led to her becoming a member of the Juilliard Opera Centre at the world-renowned Juilliard School in New York. Her experiences working with eminent mentors in opera, art song, and stagecraft deeply inform her teaching today.
Over the course of her performing career, Frédérique Vézina brought to life a wide array of leading roles, including Mimì (La Bohème), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Micaëla (Carmen), the Governess (The Turn of the Screw), Wellgunde (Das Rheingold), and Hanna Glawari (The Merry Widow). A defining moment in her career came in 2010 when she created the title role in the world premiere of John Estacio's Lillian Alling.
Throughout this journey, she had the privilege of collaborating with distinguished conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, James Conlon, Hans Fricke, Jacques Lacombe, Kent Nagano, Bernard Labadie, and Richard Bradshaw, among others.
Today, Frédérique Vézina is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generation of singers. Since 2010, she has been an esteemed educator, first at Western University and, since 2013, at the University of Toronto, where she is a valued member of the voice faculty. In addition, she serves as co-director of the France-Canada Academy of Vocal Arts, which runs in Toronto (Canada) and Tours (France) each year. She frequently offers masterclasses and serves as an adjudicator for music festivals and competitions.
Her teaching philosophy centers on cultivating a deep awareness of the body as the singer's instrument, providing students with the autonomy and technical mastery to support their artistic expression. In addition, her work with singers strives to develop profound and meaningful expressivity rooted in the intimate personalization of text and character.
Frédérique Vézina also contributes to Opera Canada from time to time, sharing her insights on the art form she loves. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys supporting her children in their various endeavors and hosting memorable gatherings with friends.
St. James-Rosemount United Church
171 Sherwood Ave.
Kitchener, ON N2B 1K2
Time | Name | Titles | Home Festival |
---|---|---|---|
Time:10:10 AM | Name:Adhya Sangapallar | Titles: Child of the Universe by Craig Cassils Old Dan Tucker arr Jay Althouse | Home Festival:Oakville |
Time:10:20 AM | Name:Zara Veldman | Titles: The Willow Song by Arthur Sullivan Water Parted from the Sea by Thomas Augustine Arne | Home Festival:Woodstock |
Time:10:30 AM | Name:Annabelle He | Titles: Scarborough Fair, English Folk Song by Arr. Jay Althouse Come Ready and See Me by Richard Hundley | Home Festival:Kitchener-Waterloo |
Time:10:40 AM | Name:Raluca Hanciu | Titles: Computer Cat by Donna Rhodenizer Suo-Gan, Welsh Folk Song by arr. Alec Rowley | Home Festival:Barrie |
Time:10:50 AM | Name:Emma Stead | Titles: Danny Boy by Jeff Smallman Non giova il sospirar by Nicola Vaccai | Home Festival:Hamilton |
Time:11:00 AM | Name:Mira Parthasarathy | Titles: Dans les ruines d'une abbaye by Gabriel Fauré No quiero casarme by arr. F. Campbell-Watson | Home Festival:Ottawa Kiwanis |
Time:11:10 AM | Name:Kayla Buchanan | Titles: To the Sky by arr. by Carl Strommen Someone by Violet Archer | Home Festival:Oakville |
Time:11:20 AM | Name:Alcina Wojkowski | Titles: A Pirate Song by William K. Smith I'm Gonna Go and Live at Gramma's by David Dahlgren | Home Festival:Chatham |
Time:11:30 AM | Name:Withdrawn | Titles: | Home Festival: |
Time:11:40 AM | Name:Evelyn Fu | Titles: Beautiful by Chester Duncan L'été by Ruth Watson Henderson | Home Festival:Pickering GTA |
Time | Name | Titles | Home Festival |
---|---|---|---|
Time:1:00 PM | Name:Alice Russell | Titles: The Ash Grove, Welsh folk song by arr. Forrest Kinney The Stars Are with the Voyager by Jay Althouse | Home Festival:Ottawa Kiwanis |
Time:1:10 PM | Name:Karan Zahedi | Titles: Un canadien errant by arr. Nancy Telfer The Path to the Moon by Eric Thiman | Home Festival:Newmarket |
Time:1:20 PM | Name:Alkina Feng | Titles: An die Laute, D905 by Franz Schubert Un Canadien errant by arr. Nancy Teller | Home Festival:Quinte |
Time:1:30 PM | Name:Louis Shen | Titles: Intorno all'idol mio by Marco Antonio Cesti, arr, Alessandro Parisotti For You There Is No Song by Leslie Adams | Home Festival:IMFC |
Time:1:40 PM | Name:Lyra Spakauskas | Titles: Frühlingslied, D 398 by Franz Schubert The Gospel Train by arr. Forrest Kinney | Home Festival:Peel |
Time:1:50 PM | Name:Myrah De Clerk | Titles: I'm Gonna Go an' Live at Gramma's by David F. Dahlgren The Song That Nature Sings by Ruth Elaine Schram | Home Festival:Chatham |
Time:2:00 PM | Name:Olivia DeLuca | Titles: There are Fairies at the Bottom of Our Garden by Liza Lehmann I Hate Music by Leonard Bernstein | Home Festival:Toronto |
Workshop will be held from approximately 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm.
Announcement of winners will happen at the end of the workshop.
The top two competitors from this class will proceed to the playoffs.
The playoffs will be held at St. James-Rosemount United Church
171 Sherwood Ave., Kitchener, ON N2B 1K2