Karina Gauvin
Encyclopedia
Karina Gauvin is an internationally-recognized Canadian soprano
who has made several recordings and is especially recognised for her interpretation of Baroque music
. Opera News
stated that, "Gauvin knows how to rivet an audience in opera and concert. She has been a queen of Baroque opera for years. Her personality is big enough to dominate her elaborate wigs and costumes, and her soprano voice is like a clear, refreshing and inexhaustible spring that darts and sparkles around any ornamental obstacle in its way."
, Gauvin was the youngest of three children born to two both professionally trained opera singers who were never able to establish successful performance careers. With the encouragement of her mother, Lucie Gaudreau, she became a member of the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus
at the age of 8. She sang in numerous concerts and operas with the chorus over the next eight years, including productions of Tosca
and Wozzeck
. As a teenager she began to study singing seriously with mezzo-soprano
Catherine Robbin in Toronto. She moved with her family back to Montreal and shortly thereafter enrolled at McGill University
where she majored in Art History. While there she sang in the university's chorus under conductor Nicole Paiement. Paiement convinced Gauvin to pursue a career as a singer, and she subsequently left McGill for the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where she became a pupil of Marie Daveluy. She later studied in Glasgow with contralto Pamela Bowden at the Royal Scottish Academy
.
Gauvin made her professional opera debut with the Glimmerglass Opera
. She won First Prize at the CBC Radio National Competition, and the Lieder Prize and the Public's Prize at the 's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition
(Holland, 1994). Other awards include the Virginia Parker Prize
(Canada Council) and the Maggie Teyte Memorial Prize in London. She has sung in concerts with the Chicago Symphony, Les Violons du Roy
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
, Minnesota Orchestra
, Montreal Symphony Orchestra
, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra
among others.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who has made several recordings and is especially recognised for her interpretation of Baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
. Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
stated that, "Gauvin knows how to rivet an audience in opera and concert. She has been a queen of Baroque opera for years. Her personality is big enough to dominate her elaborate wigs and costumes, and her soprano voice is like a clear, refreshing and inexhaustible spring that darts and sparkles around any ornamental obstacle in its way."
Life and career
Born in MontréalMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Gauvin was the youngest of three children born to two both professionally trained opera singers who were never able to establish successful performance careers. With the encouragement of her mother, Lucie Gaudreau, she became a member of the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus
Canadian Children's Opera Chorus
The Canadian Children's Opera Company was founded in 1968 by Ruby Mercer and Lloyd Bradshaw. The Chorus consists of five divisions of approximately 240 boys and girls aged 6 to 19. The Principal Chorus has over 80 choristers, and they participate as the children's chorus in productions by the...
at the age of 8. She sang in numerous concerts and operas with the chorus over the next eight years, including productions of Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
and Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
. As a teenager she began to study singing seriously with mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Catherine Robbin in Toronto. She moved with her family back to Montreal and shortly thereafter enrolled at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
where she majored in Art History. While there she sang in the university's chorus under conductor Nicole Paiement. Paiement convinced Gauvin to pursue a career as a singer, and she subsequently left McGill for the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where she became a pupil of Marie Daveluy. She later studied in Glasgow with contralto Pamela Bowden at the Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
.
Gauvin made her professional opera debut with the Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
. She won First Prize at the CBC Radio National Competition, and the Lieder Prize and the Public's Prize at the 's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition
's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition
The International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch is a biannual singing competition held in the Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch. Next to the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition and the Charles Hennen Concours, it is the only other international classical music competition in the...
(Holland, 1994). Other awards include the Virginia Parker Prize
Virginia Parker Prize
The Virginia Parker Prize is an annual award given to outstanding young classical musicians who have previously been recipients of Canada Council grants...
(Canada Council) and the Maggie Teyte Memorial Prize in London. She has sung in concerts with the Chicago Symphony, Les Violons du Roy
Les Violons du Roy
Les Violons du Roy is a French-Canadian chamber orchestra based in Québec City, Québec. The orchestra's principal venue is the Palais Montcalm in Québec City. The orchestra also performs concerts in Montréal at the Place des Arts, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and St...
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
Orchestre symphonique de Québec is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Quebec City. Founded in 1902 as the Société symphonique de Québec, the OSQ is the oldest active Canadian orchestra. Joseph Vézina was the OSQ's first music director, from 1902 to 1924...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
among others.
External links
- Karina Gauvin’s website (Flash required)