Mezzo soprano Wallis Giunta, pictured to the right, has just been invited to join the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann program.  The goal of this prestigious program is to identify and nurture the most talented singers and guide them, using the unique resources of the Met, to major careers.  Ms. Giunta is currently in her second year as a member of the Canadian Opera Company ensemble studio and has already been engaged by numerous orchestras and opera companies.

Marc Hervieux, has just won “Best Classical – Vocal Album” at the 2010 Gala de L’Adisq for his recording of tenor arias with conductor Yannick Nézét-Séguin.  Currently enjoying rock star popularity, tenor Marc Hervieux is in the midst of a tour featuring the music of last year’s blockbuster hit Après Nous and will have made close to 150 stops by the time he’s finished.  Many of these concerts sold out and have left organizers scrambling to book extra concerts to accommodate his fans.  His recording Aprés Nous was released last October and had hit gold by December.

Congratulations to baritone Michael Nyby, who won the Western Canada Metropolitan Opera district auditions over the weekend.  Michael Nyby holds a bachelor’s degree in voice performance from Ithaca College and a Master’s in Opera from the University of British Columbia.  He has performed with the Vancouver Opera, the Vancouver Bach Choir, the Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera and the Duluth Festival Opera. Michael is currently a member of the young artists program for Minnesota Opera.

Mary Lou Fallis is getting ready for a very special Christmas concert with the Victoria Symphony.  Canada’s foremost musical comedienne, Mary Lou Fallis will deliver her musical high jinks in My Funny Christmastime and joining her on stage will be her daughter Anna Madgett, who was the star of the Toronto production of Mama Mia. Included in the show will be a new arrangement of He’s Too Fat for the Chimney and a medley where mother and daughter will square off on their musical memories of Christmas.  Always illuminating but mostly just hilarious, Mary Lou provides definitive performances of familiar Christmas classics and invents some classics of her own that will put some laugh-out-loud joy into your holidays.