Download Artists` Info - Montreal`s Italian Week

Information about the artists 2014
ADAM LUTHER
Canadian tenor Adam Luther recently completed his
tenure as a member of the Canadian Opera Company
Studio Ensemble where he performed many mainstage
roles to great critical and audience acclaimed. Most
notably, he has sung Der Steuermann in Christopher
Alden’s ‘Der fliegende Holländer’ at the COC were La
Scena Musicale praised him for his “eloquently beautiful
solos”. Mr. Luther has been a featured soloist with the
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Sounds of the Festival in
Parry Sound, Aldeburgh Connection and the Arts and
Letters Club of Toronto. He will be interpreting the role of
B.F. Pinkerton in Giacomo Puccini’s opera ˝Madame
Butterfly˝ during Montreal Italian Week.
ANNA LIANI
Anna Liani was born in Quebec and lived in northern Italy,
Canada as well as on the island of La Reunion in the
Indian Ocean. She grew up with her grandmother and
father and began singing at the age of 10. She is now an
international singer and songwriter who is best known for
her great love song "Bello Amore," which she wrote and
sang for Cirque du Soleil's "Zumanity" in Las Vegas. She
collaborated in the production of various albums with
Cirque du Soleil and on other important projects which
were presented in London, Italy, Montreal and Las Vegas.
In 2013, Anna Liani was featured on composer Simon
Carpentier’s album "SKY". This year, Anna will be singing
at Montreal Italian Week as well as present her new album
coming out soon.
ALEXANDRE SYLVESTRE
A native of Quebec, Alexandre Sylvestre studied at the
Conservatoire de musique de Montréal where he
successfully obtained the “Premier Prix avec Grande
Distinction.” In the 2010-2011 seasons, he performed at
l’Opéra de Montréal as Monterone in Rigoletto, Colline in
La Boheme, and as Schaunard in Pacific Opera Victoria’s
production of Puccini’s masterpiece. During the 2009-2010
seasons, he was featured with the Montreal Symphony,
conducted by Kent Nagano, followed by an appearance at
the Lanaudiere Festival under the direction of Yannick
Nezet Seguin. He will be interpreting the role of Sharpless
in Giacomo Puccini’s opera ˝Madame Butterfly˝ during
Montreal Italian Week.
CARL RAGONESE
As composer, performer and teacher, Carl Ragonese is an
active member of the music scene. His artistic versatility
has allowed him to compose works for the stage, the
concert hall as well as pop music. His unique musical
style, which blends modernist techniques with classical
ideals, was developed during his Masters studies in
composition at Université de Montreal. With a sound that
has been compared to composers such as Philip Glass,
Michael Nyman, and even Italian composer Ludovico
Einaudi, Carl has created a body of work that is
continuously intriguing with a timeless appeal.
CAROLINE BLEAU
Soprano and actress Caroline Bleau was noticed because
of both the intensity of her stage presence as well as her
voice’s warm and bright tone. She was named Young
Ambassador Lyric by Lyrichorégra20 Theatre and was
chosen to represent Canada at the International
Competition in Marmande, France. At the Opéra de
Montreal she was headlining as the role of Nedda (I
Pagliacci) and she also starred as Noémie in Massenet's
Cendrillon. She was one of three artists invited to
participate in the creation of the Opera Fashion parade,
which took place in Montreal and Los Angeles at the end
of September. She will be interpreting the role of Cio-Cio
San in Giacomo Puccini’s opera ˝Madame Butterfly˝ during
Montreal Italian Week.
CHRISTOPHER DALLO
Canadian tenor Christopher Dallo has captured audiences
around the world with his extraordinary and captivating
voice. Studying with Dramatic tenor Ermanno Mauro and
Canadian icon Elaine Overholt, Christopher develops his
voice for the world of Pop Opera. He has performed
concerts in Toronto, Quebec, Ottawa, Vancouver,
Northern and Central Italy, Cuba, New Jersey, Pittsburgh,
and New York and has had the pleasure of working and
sharing the stage with Sarah McLaughlin, Michael Johns,
Peter Cetera, Philip Bailey, Charice, Ruben Studdard, The
Canadian Tenors and many more. Most recently
Christopher has performed for the Canadian Prime
Minister, Stephen Harper and the Italian Prime Minister,
Enrico Letta.
CLAUDE GRENIER
Claude Grenier is a singer, teacher, composer, arranger
and former intern for the Atelier Lyrique de L'Opéra de
Montréal, who studied lyrical art with the famous
Jacqueline Martel Cistellini. Also benefiting from extensive
training as a musician, he was awarded five prizes at the
Conservatoire de Musique du Québec, three in Harmony,
Counterpoint and Fugue with the eminent pedagogue and
composer Jacques Faubert. He will be interpreting the role
of the imperial commissioner in Giacomo Puccini’s opera
˝Madame Butterfly˝ during Montreal Italian Week.
DOLCEAMARE
Bound by their passion for performance and love for
music, Dolceamare is a girl group who integrates passion
for music through song and dance to create sentimental
and uplifting performances. Their name, Dolceamare (DA),
was created on the spur of the moment at their first
performance together and is Italian for sweet and sour,
which describes their various personalities. Dolceamare
recently performed at the annual benefit concert, Musica
È in support of Anti-Bullying on March 29th, 2013 in
collaboration with Project LOVE, CIA and the Leonardo da
Vinci Center.
GENEVIÈVE LÉVESQUE
Heralded for her ‘powerful, warm and grand beauty tone’,
mezzo-soprano Geneviève Lévesque is one of the most
promising young artists of her generation as much in
America as in Europe. Geneviève ranked finalist among
several renowned Voice Competitions: Jacqueline
Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singer,
Concours International de Chant Clermont-Ferrand in
France, Prix d’Europe, XI Czech and Slovak International
Singing Competition in Montreal and Meistersinger
Competition in Austria. In addition, she won the Canada
Music Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the Canada
Music Competition’s Stepping Stone. This Spring,she sang
the alto part in the Grand-Messe by B. Fecteau and G.
Vigneault with the Choeur de la Place Bourget in Joliette.
In march 2015, she will also perform in the Mozart’s
Requiem with the Orchestre du Saguenay in Chicoutimi.
She will be interpreting the role of Suzuki in Giacomo
Puccini’s opera ˝Madame Butterfly˝ during Montreal Italian
Week.
GEOFFROY SALVAS
Pupil of Aline Kutan to the Conservatoire of Montreal until
2012, Geoffroy Salvas sings in diverse vocational trainings
since 2002 among which the choirs of the Symphony
orchestra of Montreal and the Opera of Montreal. As
soloist, he embodied among others The Gendarme (Les
mamelles de Tirésias), Larkens (Fanciulla del West), The
Viceroy (Périchole), Cappadocien ( Salome), Ein
deutsches Requiem ( Brahms), Small solemn mass (
Rossini). He also participates in several creations on the
Montreal contemporary stage. He will be interpreting the
role of Goro in Giacomo Puccini’s opera ˝Madame
Butterfly˝ during Montreal Italian Week.
GIANCARLO SCALIA
Accompanied with FRANÇOIS-NICOLAS GUERTIN
GIANCARLO SCALIA
Born in Montreal, Giancarlo Scalia often appears as both
pianist and composer. He has performed as soloist and
collaborative pianist throughout Canada as well as in
France, Austria and Italy. He has composed for various
soloists and ensembles as well as for several film
projects. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree and a DESS in
piano performance under the direction of Jimmy Brière
and Marc Durand and a Master’s in composition under the
direction of Denis Gougeon from the Université de
Montréal. He has also participated in the vocal
accompaniment programs at the Orford Arts Centre as
well as at the Académie Francis Poulenc in Tours, the
Wiener Musikseminar in Vienna and Vox Musicae in
Senigallia.
FRANÇOIS-NICOLAS GUERTIN
Montreal-born young baritone François-Nicolas Guertin
received his first musical training with the Maîtrise des
Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal. He is currently
completing a Master's degree in Voice at the Université de
Montréal in the studio of John Fanning. On opera stage,
he sang the roles of Marco (Gianni Schicchi, February
2014), le Marquis de la Force (Les dialogues des
Carmélites, February 2012) and Achilla (Guilio Cesare,
February 2010) with l’Atelier d’opéra de l’Université de
Montréal. He also sang roles with l’Atelier de musique
contemporaine de l'Université de Montréal and Chants
Libres. In recital repertoire, he received specialized
training from internationally renowned musicians such as
Rosemarie Landry, Susan Manoff, François Le Roux, Sir
Thomas Allen and Graham Johnson.
GIANLUCA MARTINENGHI
Gianluca Martinenghi studied piano, composition and
conducting. Early in his career, he collaborated with many
musicians, such as Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Yuri
Ahronovijtch Vladimir Ashkenazy, Rudolph Barshaj and
Bruno Campanella. Among the most significant opera
productions he directed, “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” by
Bellini at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Verdi's, “La
Traviata” at the Teatro Bellini di Catania, Bellini's, “La
Sonnambula” at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, “Lucia
di Lammermoor” by Donizetti at the Deutsche Oper in
Berlin and “Don Giovanni” by Mozart at the Avenches
Festival with the Swiss Romande orchestra are the most
well-known. He was very successful with Verdi's, “Otello,
Andrea Cheniér” by Giordano and “Manon Lescaut” by
Puccini in major traditional Italian theatres.
GINO QUILLICO
*Event presented as part of the summer
cultural program of the Rivière-desPrairies arrdondissement, in collaboration
with Montreal's Italian Week.
Esteemed as an interpreter of the French and Italian
repertoire, lyric baritone Gino Quilico has performed with
the world’s major opera companies, including the
Metropolitan Opera (New York), La Scala (Milano), The
Royal Opera House (London), The Vienna State Opera
(Vienna), the Paris Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper
(Munich), The Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires), La Fenice
(Venice). Gino Quilico has released over twenty opera
recordings, including a Grammy Award for his participation
in the recording of Les Troyens (Decca). His critically
acclaimed solo recital recording Le Secret (Koch
International) has also firmly established Mr. Quilico in the
classical recording industry.
IMA
Three years after the release of her last opus, IMA just
released her new album LOVE MOI. It is with excitement
and happiness that IMA presented Dis-moi last January,
the first single from the album. With this song, through
which many women will recognize, Ima opens up like
never before. BOOM, the second single, is currently in
constant rotation on the airwaves of radio stations in
Quebec. After a highly acclaimed show at the Metropolis
during Montreal’s Francofolies, IMA will tour Quebec with
her complete show. The singer-songwriter will thus have
the pleasure to offer an intimate and colorful show, which
promises to be a reflection of the sensitive woman hidden
behind the singer.
JOE CACCHIONE
Once he realized that everything is just a big joke, being a
comic made sense…Joe Cacchione quickly recognized
that he was destined to be on stage and make people
laugh, despite his parents' countless efforts to lead him
back on a more traditional path. What was the result? His
career as a comic coexists with his career as a high school
principle... now that’s a trick in itself! When asked what he
finds so amusing in our daily lives: «Everything is funny as
long as it happens to others, right?!...».
JOHNNY & CHRISTINA CAPOBIANCO
Christina and Johnny Capobianco are a father and
daughter team who are the founders of the Grand Show
Band. Johnny has been performing for close to 40 years
and his daughter close to 10 years. 20 years for Stefin
Noel who is also one of the bands lead singers. Concerts,
fund raisers, private events and much more have been
part of the Grand Show Band's duties provided in many
communities. Especially Italian. This team is very proud to
have the opportunity to perform for the many admirers in
Montreal and would like to reassure everyone that they will
continue to do so for many years to come.
MARCO BOCCHICCHIO
When Marco received his very own karaoke machine, he
began singing at the age of four. Fast forward a few years,
he is now 17 years old. Marco has already touched the
hearts of so many. He always had a passion for the arts
and music being one of his main hobbies. He is currently
studying classical voice at the pre university level and
aspires to be as big as Luciano Pavarotti and Placido
Domingo. He recently won Superfantastico in the adult
category and he will be going to Italy and sing. He
continues to follow his dreams and works hard to make
them a reality.
RAPHAELLE PAQUETTE
Following several years of training in classical singing, ballet
and piano, the soprano Raphaëlle Paquette has developed
a refined mastery of the repertoire for lyrical heroines such
as Marie in Donizetti’s «La fille du régiment» and Rossini’s
«Armida» in which her recent Toronto appearance in the
title role was qualified by the critics as breath-taking. Her
repertoire includes the following roles: Marguerite de Valois
in «Les Huguenots» performed at Opera in Concert in
Toronto, Oscar in «Un ballo in maschera» at the Quebec
Opera, Adele in «Die Fledermaus» at the Vermont
International Opera Festival, just to name a few. From 2004
to 2010, Raphaëlle is the embodiment of Cristal in the
symphonic version of Luc Plamondon’s opera « Starmania
» that was presented at the Opéra de Montréal, the Opéra
de Québec, the Quebec Summer Music Festival and was
also presented in Asia and Europe. She will be interpreting
the role of Kate Pinkerton in Giacomo Puccini’s opera
˝Madame Butterfly˝ during Montreal Italian Week.
VANESSA PIUNNO
Vanessa Piunno is fourteen years old who has been
performing in the entertainment industry since the age of
five.
VINCENZO THOMA
Composer, lyricist, musician, arranger, singer, and
teacher, Vincenzo was born in Rome, Italy. Thoma began
his career in Italy as a back-up vocalist for many
artists such as Richard Cocciante. Vincenzo Thoma
participated as a soloist in the popular music show
Fantastico for the national network (RAI) in Italy. Vincenzo
was the voice of Aladin in the Walt Disney movie and was
also the opening act for Isabelle Boulay in 2000 and 2001.
Vincenzo Thoma is presently in the recording studio
producing his next album, which will be released next fall.
Meanwhile, he is touring with his show "Italianissimo".
VU
Vu is an Italo Canadese rock band that's enjoyed
performing in Italy's 50th edition of Il CantaGiro 2years
ago, walking away with the Best International Act Award
not to mention an unforgettable experience. Since then the
duo has slimmed down to being a single artist act
accompanied by great Montreal musicians at every
performance. Influenced heavily by late 60's 70's and 80's
Italian music the sounds of Celentano and Toto aren't hard
to miss when listening to a Vu track. The release of the
second album entitled "Vu - no" is on it's way as Saverio
Lariccia finishes polishing the final touches to the EP.
WILST
Wilst is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He
went on to complete his Masters Degree in guitar
performance at McGill University. He, along with his
brother in 2006, formed the indie pop rock band CitiZen
Folk. In 2008 they released a 7 song Ep entitled “My
Friends…”. Many shows as well as radio airplay in Ontario
and Quebec followed. When the group disbanded in 2009,
Wilst used the opportunity to embark on his now more
personal solo endeavour. The tunes are catchy and when
incorporated with the high energy that Wilst brings to the
stage, audiences are guaranteed to be both entertained
and drawn into the excitement of the performance.