The Singer Behind the Song Opera Concert & Roundtable Discussion

This event is free to the public but space is limited. Please register for the event here.
Abstract:Guest artist Philippe Castagner returns to UBC taking on the leading role in Massenet’s Manon. Joined by international opera coach, Denise Gaudry, and the UBC Opera Ensemble, the Peter Wall Institute presents this roundtable discussion and concert entitled “The Singer Behind the Song.” Philippe and Denise bring their long years of operatic and art song experience in opening the mystery of how the singer prepares and presents the song – no matter what genre it is – Schubert, Schumann, Mozart, Puccini, Massenet, Verdi – the mystery of The Singer behind the Song will be revealed.
Philippe Castagner:Philippe Castagner posseses a tenor voice of exceptional quality that he employs with immense taste and musicality. Philippe Castagner joined the Lindemann Young Artists Program in 2002 and has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera on a regular basis during the past decade. North American operatic engagements include: Beppe (I Pagliacci) at the Metropolitan Opera, Portland Opera and Vancouver Opera; Tamino at Arizona Opera and Vancouver Opera;  Acis at the NYCO; and Madman (Wozzeck) and Solo Quartet (The Enchanted Island) with the Metropolitan Opera. In 2008, Philippe Castagner made his European opera debut as Ferrando at Bilbao (ABAO). North American concert engagements include: L’Enfant et les Sortileges; the Messiah, Freddy (My Fair Lady) with the New York Philharmonic; Beethoven Symphony No.9 and Carmen with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Les Troyens (Hylas) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival; Messiah and Die Schone Mullerin at Carnegie Hall; and Beethoven Symphony No.9 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. European concert engagements include: Berlioz Romeo et Juliette with the Academia Santa Caecilia. Conductors with whom Philippe Castanger has worked include: William Christie; Gustavo Dudamel; Charles Dutoit; Louis Langree; James Levine; Loren Maazel;  Nicholas McGegan; and Michael Tilson Thomas. This past season, he returned to The Metropolitan Opera as the Madman in Wozzeck.
Denise Gaudry:Denise Gaudry is a Canadian-born pianist and opera coach, currently residing in Munich, Germany. She is on the faculty of the University of Music and Performing Arts, Munich as well as an official pianist with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and the Munich Radio Orchestra. She has performed under James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti and Wolfgang Sawallisch among others. After receiving her diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (A.R.C.T.), Ms. Gaudry began her coaching career at the University of British Columbia Opera School. After studies in lieder accompaniment with Gwendolyn Koldolfsky at the University of Southern California, she resumed work as a coach-repetiteur with the Vancouver Opera Association, the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Ottawa Festival and the Canadian Opera Company. From 1976-78 she was on the faculty of Wilfred Laurier University in Kitchener-Waterloo. Grants for the Canada Arts Council enabled Ms. Gaudry to spend two years in New York City, studying with Joan Dornemann at the Metropolitan Opera and attending Master Classes with Alberta Masiello. Ms. Gaudry began her European coaching career at the Zurich Opera Studio, followed by engagements at the Staatstheater Hannover, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and L’Opera de Lyon where she assisted John Eliot Gardiner in numerous opera recordings and Festival Aix-en-Provence, France. From 1989 to 1999 she was a member of the coaching staff at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In addition to Ms. Gaudry’s extensive coaching experience, she has performed as lieder accompanist in recitals throughout Canada and Europe.
This event is free to the public but space is limited. Please register for the event here.Ideas Lunch & Wine Bar, University Centre Lower Level, Room 174, 6331 Crescent Road, Vancouver, BC