Parlando: The COC Blog

On November 29, 10 young singers will participate in the COC Ensemble Studio Competition, competing for cash prizes and a position in the prestigious Ensemble Studio training program for emerging artists. Our last finalist? Soprano Kelsey Vicary.

Soprano Kelsey Vicary was originally drawn to opera for its glamour. “From a young age, I always envisioned these glamorous stars who got to dress up, make unbelievably beautiful sounds, and act out stories that were larger than life,” she recalls.

But now that she’s studied the art form for several years, she has a better understanding of what makes it so special. She says, “Now, my understanding of what it takes to be a singer is so much more complex - and somewhat less glamorous - but those basic things remain: that opera melds together so many different art forms, and that we as singers get the chance to play in that realm.”

The Niagara Falls, ON native holds a bachelor of music from the University of Western Ontario and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in performance and literature, also at Western. Her opera performances include Micaëla in Carmen (Halifax Summer Opera Workshop), Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (UWOpera at the University of Western Ontario) and Suor Felicite in Dialogues des Carmélites (Accademia Europea dell’Opera). In 2013, she plays Fiordiligi in UWOpera’s production of Così fan tutte.

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On November 29, 10 young singers will participate in the COC Ensemble Studio Competition, competing for cash prizes and a position in the prestigious Ensemble Studio training program for emerging artists. Every day we will introduce you to our finalists. Today's finalist? Tenor Andrew Haji.

Andrew Haji, a tenor from London, ON, didn’t always plan to be a singer. When he finished high school, he weighed singing against his more practical interest, computer science, and decided to choose the safer option of the two—working with computers.

“But after about a year and a half I realized it really wasn't fulfilling for me at all,” he says. So he “took a year off to do some soul searching” and decided to pursue music at the University of Toronto. As he says, “the rest is history!”

Although he had been singing in choirs from an early age, Andrew says, “I hadn't even seen an opera until coming to school in Toronto. While pursuing my voice performance degree I was intrigued by all the opera going on around me, and I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did!”

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On November 29, 10 young singers will participate in the COC Ensemble Studio Competition, competing for cash prizes and a position in the prestigious Ensemble Studio training program for emerging artists. Every day we will introduce you to one of our finalists. Today's finalist? Tenor Michael Marino.

Tenor Michael Marino, is so committed to opera that theatre is part of everything he does. He even proposed to his girlfriend on stage! Michael’s new fiancée is also an opera singer and both were taking part in the Opera as Theatre Program at the Banff Centre this summer, which is where the proposal took place.

The London, ON native may be devoted to opera now, but as he puts it, “opera chose me, not the other way around.”

Encouraged by his mother, he took voice lessons and sang in choirs as a child, but didn’t discover opera until he started his undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario. “It was after I'd been cast as St. Brioche in my school's production of The Merry Widow that I realized I'd fallen in love with the art form,” he says. “I love the collaborative nature of the opera, working with new directors and colleagues, and the sense of accomplishment that comes after opening night.”

Michael joined the Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artists Program in 2011. Before moving to Calgary, he completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at the University of Western Ontario and trained at the Banff Summer Arts Festival, Opera NUOVA (Edmonton) and Highlands Opera Studio (Haliburton, ON).

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