OPERA NEWS
News
Just Announced: Allyson McHardy Nominated for a Wilde Award
Congratulations to Allyson McHardy on her nomination for a Wilde Award for her performance as Cornelia in Michigan Opera Theatre’s “Julius Caesar”. Now in its 12th year, The Wilde Awards honour the best productions, performances and technical work produced or presented by professional theaters across the state of Michigan. Winners will be announced on Monday, August 19.
Praise for Allyson as Sister Helen Prejean in the Opéra de Montréal production of Dean Man Walking
The singing was magnificent tonight. Sister Prejean (McHardy) had an immense amount of singing throughout the night, and her expressive and demonstrative voice never showed signs of wear. She acted marvelously as well – not an easy task when portraying an Elvis-loving nun with a sharp, dry wit.” (Bachtrack, 11 March 2013)
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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.