| Allyson McHardy |
Introduction “Allyson McHardy … a singer of enormous imagination and versatility, sang a lustrous and energetic Rosina; the inventive twists and turns in her highly ornamented account of the opening ‘Una voce poco fa’ were superb” San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman BiographyMezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, "a singer of enormous imagination and versatility, sang a lustrous and energetic Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia)" according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Joshua Kosman, who continued his praise noting that "the inventive twists and turns in her highly ornamented account of the opening ‘Una voce poco fa’ were superb". Her triumph as Rosina (conducted by Maurizio Barbacini) followed her debut performances as Olga in San Francisco Opera’s EUGENE ONEGIN conducted by Illan Volkov. The striking mezzo-soprano made her debut with New York City Opera as Marchesa Melibea in Rossini’s IL VIAGGIO A REIMS under George Manahan, sang Adalgisa in NORMA in Warsaw and recent concert engagements have included DREAM OF GERONTIUS with Kalmar for Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, MESSIAH for the Toronto Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, ELIJAH in Montreal, LES NUITS D’ÉTÉ in Bielefeld, Germany and Beethoven’s CHORAL FANTASIA with Labadie and Les Violons du Roy. Highlights of Ms. McHardy’s 2010-2011 season include a return to the Grant Park Festival in Chicago for Mahler’s SYMPHONY NO. 2, the lead role in Rossini’s CENERENTOLA at Glyndebourne, Mahler’s DAS LIED VON DER ERDE with Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony, Isabella in L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI in Limoges and Aix en Provence, Flosshilde in DAS RHEINGOLD with Nagano and the Montreal Symphony, Mozart’s REQUIEM with the Seattle Symphony and Houston’s Mercury Baroque Orchestra, LA DAMNATION DE FAUST with the Vancouver Bach Choir and MESSIAH with the Grand Philharmonic Choir of Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario. Ms. McHardy began her 2009-2010 season as Suzuki in MADAMA BUTTERFLY for the Canadian Opera Company and was also seen as Jo in LITTLE WOMEN for Calgary Opera. As a concert artist she sang MESSIAHs in Madrid with Lopez-Cobos, Vancouver and with the Iseler Singers of Toronto. Mahler’s LIEDER EINES FAHRENDEN GESELLEN was on her schedule for the Alberta Ballet in Calgary and Edmonton and Beethoven’s MISSA SOLEMNIS claimed her attention with the Winnipeg Symphony. Ms. McHardy’s 2008-09 season included Phédre in a rare staging of Rameau’s HIPPOLYTE ET ARICIE in Toulouse conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. Minnesota Opera patrons heard her in May of 2009 as Rosina in IL BARBIERE DE SIVIGLIA and she returned to Vancouver Opera for a reprise of Olga in EUGENE ONEGIN. For the Scotia Festival in the Maritimes, she sang Mahler’s SYMPHONY NO. 2 conducted by Alain Trudel. The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts opened in September of 2006 with Wagner’s DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN and Ms. McHardy appeared in DIE WALKÜRE (Rossweisse) and in DAS RHEINGOLD and DIE GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG (Flosshilde) during these inaugural performances. She made her role debut as Dalila in SAMSON ET DALILA for Opera Ontario and on the concert stage she was soloist in ISRAEL IN EGYPT for Les Violons du Roy led by Bernard Labadie. She has recorded the title role in Caldara’s LA CONVERSIONE DI CLODOVEO, RE DI FRANCIA (earlier performed in Berlin, Montreal and Vancouver) for ATMA and just completed a recording project featuring the music of the Ukrainian composer Lysenko. In the fall of 2007, she was in France for Isabella in L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI in Lille, Amiens and Caen followed in the winter of 2008 by the role of Olga in EUGENE ONEGIN for the Canadian Opera Company. Later in 2008, she was soloist with the Edmonton Symphony and Quebec’s Les Violons du Roy, conducted in both instances by Bernard Labadie. Some highlights of earlier seasons include Solange in THE MAIDS and The Drummer Girl in THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS for Cincinnati Opera, a solo concert for San Francisco’s Schwabacher Recital Series, and Hermia in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM for Chicago Opera Theater. Ms. McHardy was Carmela in LA VIDA BREVE at Tanglewood with Frühbeck de Burgos and debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra in Honegger’s JEANNE D’ARC conducted by Helmuth Rilling. She recorded two works by Harry Somers, SERINETTE and A MID-WINTER NIGHT’S DREAM, after live performances for Soundstreams with the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus. She was also featured in from RAGS TO RICHES: 100 YEARS OF AMERICAN SONG with Steven Blier. Some concert highlights include Concepciòn in L’HEURE ESPAGNOLE under the baton of Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood, Henze’s VENUS UND ADONIS at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and LA VIDA BREVE under Frühbeck de Burgos with the Boston Symphony in Boston. Ms. McHardy has appeared for the Calgary Opera as Mercedes in CARMEN, Zerlina in DON GIOVANNI for Arizona Opera and Dido in DIDO AND AENEAS for the Amherst Early Opera Institute in Massachusetts. Other roles in her repertoire include Giunone in LA CALISTO, Polinesso in ARIODANTE and Jocasta in OEDIPUS REX. In concert, she has been heard with the Hamilton Philharmonic, Victoria Symphony, Toronto Sinfonia, Toronto’s Opera in Concert and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Born in Oshawa, Ontario, she studied voice at Wilfrid Laurier University, earning an Honours Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance and an Opera Diploma. She is an alumna of the Merola Programme at the San Francisco Opera the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company. August 2010
Full RepertoireOPERA
CONCERT
TRAINING San Francisco Merola Opera Program (1999) Engaged By
Reviews“The Dream of Gerontius, a deeply felt meditation on death and the afterlife is a big, demanding work for orchestra, chorus and three vocal soloists. At the Saturday night performance principal conductor Carlos Kalmar found just the right balance between Godly majesty and human emotion. McHardy was the evening’s vocal standout. As the Angel accompanying Gerontius to God’s throne, her dusky mezzo-soprano sounded rich and mellow, and she unfurled Elgar’s slow, lyrical melodies in long, satiny lines that seemed to float far above the Jay Pritzker Pavillion and Millennium Park.” “The Canadian mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy was an exceptionally fine Suzuki, Butterfly’s servant and companion. McHardy captured all of Suzuki’s astuteness and compassion in the quietest and most unhistrionic way, and she sang the music quite beautifully.” “Allyson McHardy’s fiery Phaedra – trim mezzo muscle, steady line and mastery of French declamation – is a revelation that rivals Jessye Norman and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in the same role.” “La Phèdre incandescente de la mezzo amèricane [Canadian] Allyson McHardy (une révélation). ” “Saississante (de timbre corsé et capiteaux, de temperament et de projection) est la Phèdre de la mezzo américaine (Canadian) Allyson McHardy.” Westfalen Blatt – Wilhelm Friedemann
“Allyson McHardy …a singer of enormous imagination and versatility, sang a lustrous and energetic Rossini; the inventive twists and turns in her highly ornamented account of the opening Una voce poco fa” were superb.” San Francisco Chronicle – Joshua Kosman
“Canadian mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, gave a vivacious and delightful performance in the title role of Isabella…Her singing was warm and forthright, her command of coloratura fearless and her stage demeaner never less than charismatic. She is a singer to watch.” San Francisco Chronicle – Joshua Kosman
“Allyson McHardy in der Titelpartie des Chlodwig gelang einebildhafte Darstellung ausschließlich durch die Färbung ihrer Stimme: Ob sie als Frankenköig den Feinden den Tod wünschte oder – in derselben Arie! – der Liebe zur Gemahlin Ausdruck verliehes wurde gleichermaßen zum akustischen Erlebnis mit einer Deutlichkeit, die die hervorragenden deutschen Übertitel fast entbehrich werden ließ.” German Radio
“…hier ist vor allem Allyson Mchardy zu rühmen, deren tragfähige und mühelos koloraturgängige Altsimme in allen Registern ihr charakyervolles Timbre entfaltet. Außerdem phrasiert die Sängerin glasklar und verfügt uber eine weite Ausdrucksspanne.” Berliner Zeitung - Peter Uehling
“She’s a real stage creature, dark and slender, physically expressive and loaded with smoldering personality.” Pacific Sun (San Francisco) – Stephanie von Buchau
“McHardy, in fact held much within the embrace of her vocal instrument, including both comedy and –in an Act II aria where Rossini seems to predate by several decades the somber grandeur of his countryman Verdi—some darker qualities which hint at the young singer’s probable success with tragedy. She’s also blessed with sparky, sexy allure, evoking a young Mary Tyler Moore and making it entirely credible that she’d be ardently pursued by three suitors.” Commuter Times (San Francisco) – Jeff Kallis
“Allyson McHardy’s vengeful goddess managed to be both hilarious and alarming..and even by her exit, rather poignant.” (Juno in La Calisto)
Globe and Mail – Urjo Kareda
“McHardy gave a brilliant performance, improvising passionate Italianate-sounding gibberish in a strange operatic counterpoint to the instrumentalists’ cabaret music.” (Kagel’s TANGO ALLEMAN) produced by Queen of Puddings)” Globe and Mail – Tamara Bernstein |