Style and musical elegance combined with an intuitive theatrical sense are the hallmarks of soprano Monica Whicher’s performances on the concert and opera stage. Extravagantly praised for repertoire ranging from the title role in Thais to the most intimate masterpieces of German Lieder, the Ontario native continues to captivate listeners from Lameque to Vancouver. Recent destinations include the Festival International de Musique Baroque de Lamèque, Edmonton’s Richard Eaton Singers, Vancouver’s Music in the Morning series, Orchestra London, ON and Toronto’s Amadeus Choir. He latest recording with harpist Judy Loman was released to great acclaim and she is also prominently featured in the Fall 2014 release of the continuing Ukrainian Artsong Project. Her 2014-2015 season also includes Brahms’ Requiem with Symphony Nova Scotia, Messiah with Vancouver Chamber Choir, Weihnachtsoratorium for Toronto Bach Consort and Wolf’s Italianisches Liederbuch for the University of Toronto`s Faculty of Music Artist Series.
In the previous seasons, she was heard with the Thunder Bay Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia and Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings in repertoire ranging from opera to Villa Lobos to Faure and Bach. Ms. Whicher debuted with Houston’s Mercury Baroque as Asprano in Vivaldi’s Montezuma, the work’s premiere in North America. In addition to her residency at the Colours of Music Festival, her many recitals include the works Lysenko at Toronto’s Koerner Hall, return engagements with the Talisker Players, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Leith Festival and the Indian River Festival.
Winner of the George London Award, Ms. Whicher has been nominated for a Juno Award for “Singing Somers Theatre (Centrediscs) as well as two Dora Mavor Moore awards (Le Nozze di Figaro, Dido and Aeneas) and is featured on the Juno-award winning CD’s “Beethoven Lives Upstairs”, “Mozarts’ Magic Fantasy” and “Daydreams and Lullabies”. Her recordings of Bach, Schubert and Hatzis are available on Marquis Classics and other labels and her critically acclaimed portrayal of Mérope can be seen in the EuroArts DVD of Lully’s Persée. Ms. Whicher is on the faculty of both the Glenn Gould School and the University of Toronto.
