OPERA NEWS
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barczablog : Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
"McHardy mezzo-soprano in a sort of duet with concertmaster Cristina Zacharias offered one of the highlights of the night, in Erbarme dich mein Gott (have mercy my God)." barczablog March 27, 2026. "McHardy mezzo-soprano in a sort of duet with concertmaster...
Furiously delicious and musically fast-paced “Armide” at Drottningholm’s castle theatre
"Allyson McHardy, Canadian mezzo, is charismatic and powerful with a distinctive, inviting timbre. No doubt her Armide rules." "The fact is that "Armide" feels strikingly, if not modern - then in any case timeless in terms of the power and powerlessness of love. As a...
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About
A unique vocal colour 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, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Glyndebourne Festival, San Francisco Opera, Boston Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, Warsaw Philharmonic and Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse. Adam Fischer, Seiji Ozawa, Jeremy Rohrer, Kent Nagano, Emmanuelle Haim, Bernard Labadie, Ludovic Morlot, Carlos Kalmar and Jesus Lopez Cobos are among the conductors with whom she has collaborated for performances of works such as L’enfant et les sortileges, La clemenza di Tito, Das Rheingold, Dream of Gerontius and Messiah.
Latest Album
Handel: Messiah
Music of the Baroque Orchestra
Recorded live in November 2021, Handel’s Messiah features the Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra and soloists Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano, Brian Giebler, tenor, and Matthew Brook, bass-baritone under the direction of Nicholas Kraemer.