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.
All Saints Anglican Church
400 Northfield Dr. W.
Waterloo, ON N2L 0A6
Time | Name | Titles | Home Festival |
---|---|---|---|
Time:10:00 AM | Name:Giuliana Dim | Titles: Bel piacere, Agrippina by George Frideric Handel L'heure exquise, 7 chansons grises by Reynaldo Hahn | Home Festival:Kitchener-Waterloo |
Time:10:10 AM | Name:Ella Mikelsons-Sangha | Titles: Ständchen, D. 957, No. 4 by Franz Schubert Les roses d'Ispahan, op. 39, no. 4 by Gabriel Fauré | Home Festival:Newmarket |
Time:10:25 AM | Name:Hana Manji | Titles: Sento nel core by Alessandro Scarlatti She Moved Through the Fair by Arranged by Herbert Hughes | Home Festival:London |
Time:10:40 AM | Name:Arshida Khanjani | Titles: An Cloe, K 524 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Birds by Eleanor Daley | Home Festival:Kitchener-Waterloo |
Time:10:50 AM | Name:Leah Hyatt | Titles: Tango d'amour by Leo Le Sieur Longing by Samuel Barber | Home Festival:Niagara |
Time:11:00 AM | Name:Lekha Sivakumar | Titles: Der Nussbaum, op. 25, no. 3 by Robert Schumann Ching-a-Ring Chaw by Aaron Copland | Home Festival:Ottawa Kiwanis |
Time:11:15 AM | Name:Alexis Weisshaar | Titles: The Water is Wide by Harold Birston Nymphs and Shepherds by Henry Purcell | Home Festival:Oakville |
Time:11:25 AM | Name:Sally Bruce | Titles: Bist du bei mir by Johann Sebastian Bach La Pastorella delle Alpi by Gioachino Rossini | Home Festival:Grey County |
Time | Name | Titles | Home Festival |
---|---|---|---|
Time:1:00 PM | Name:Yujie Zheng | Titles: Love's Philosophy, op. 3 by Roger Quilter A Die Musik, op. 88, no. 4 by Franz Schubert | Home Festival:Toronto |
Time:1:10 PM | Name:Lily Jones | Titles: Clear Shining Moment by Martha Hill Duncan Sérénade by Charles Gounod | Home Festival:Pickering GTA |
Time:1:25 PM | Name:Sanya Sharma | Titles: Plaisir d'amour by Jean-Paul Martini June by R. Quilter | Home Festival:Peel |
Time:1:35 PM | Name:Rishima Bansal | Titles: Quilled Sonnet by James K. Wright Amarilli, mia bella by Giulio Caccini | Home Festival:IMFC |
Time:1:50 PM | Name:Payden McNeill | Titles: Shenandoah by Mark Mrozinski Singing the Blues by Donna Rhodenizer | Home Festival:Barrie |
Time:2:05 PM | Name:Katherine Walker | Titles: If You Become the Moon. by Kevin Helppie & Forrest Kinney May Sunshine Light Your Way by Sally Albrecht | Home Festival:Sudbury |
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 All Saints Anglican Church
400 Northfield Drive West, Waterloo, ON N2L 0A6