Nina Scott-Stoddart

It’s been a pretty busy year for me.

The Dal Opera Workshop pulled off a lively production of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld in early February 2009, and I had a blast as stage director.
I sang the Opera Nova Scotia Opera Valentine in February with my friends Lenard Whiting, Amber Bishop and Jason Parkhill.

I performed in a Sondheim cabaret in Toronto with Tryptych Productions, also in February.

I sang a Cabaret program with Maritime Concert Opera in June, as part of the opera festival here in Lunenburg, performing with Garry Williams and Marion Sawatzki.

I directed a program of Opera Excerpts for Halifax Summer Opera Workshop in July and August.

I conducted the children’s chorus for MCO’s production of Hansel and Gretel in October, which starred Marcia Swanston, Andrew Tees, Mary-Claire Sanderson and Signa Love.

I was honoured to perform at two fundraisers this month:  the first was for Second Story Women’s Centre here in Lunenburg and marked Person’s Day.  It was billed as “An evening with Nellie and Nina”  (that’s Nellie McClung, don’t you know   Then last weekend I sang at a fund raiser for the Lunenburg Music Festival.
I’m busy stage directing Gianni Schicchi and Face on the Barroom Floor for Dal Opera Workshop.

I’m going to provide technical assistance to DaPoPo Theatre with a workshop version of King Lear in late November.
I’ve got a Messiah coming up with Serenata Singers of Midland on Saturday November 28th, back in Ontario. I love this group, and can’t wait to see them again!

Schicchi and Face go up the first weekend in February 2010.

I’m going to sing in and MC Opera Nova Scotia’s Opera Valentine again this year!

Friday February 13 and Saturday February 14, 2009

Nina Scott-Stoddart, mezzo
Lenard Whiting, tenor
Jason Parkhill, baritone

I want to thank some of the wonderful folks who made Carmen along the South Shore such a peak career moment for me:

Ed Franko, director and singer extraordinaire.

Andrew Tees, world’s hunkiest baritone (”Oui, je m’aime”)

The board of MCO, without whom nothing is possible

and Lenard Whiting, the Don Jose of my dreams.

I love you all!

Yes, the castanets are warming by fire, I’m getting ready to be stabbed in the heart by an ungrateful tenor — it must be time for me to sing Carmen!

I’ve had a great spring full of singing — Vivialdi Gloria in Bridgewater, a Haydn mass back in Midland, Ontario, but next month I’ll be singing Carmen, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve been training for this one for a while, and I can’t wait!

Do check out the Maritime Concert Opera website for more details of the shows, and I hope to see you in June

I have a few singing gigs coming up:

Saturday February 9
St. David’s, Halifax

An evening of Opera with Nina Scott-Stoddart, mezzo soprano and Sung Ha Shin-Bouey, soprano

Friday February 15

Opera Nova Scotia’s Opera Valentine

Love, l’amor, l’amour

6:30 pm at the Italian Cultural Centre

I’ll be the host and MC for this annual event, which will feature:

Sarah Barrett-Ives, soprano
Catie Shelley, soprano
Nina Scott-Stoddart, mezzo
Jonathan MacArthur, tenor
Andrew Pelrine, tenor
Joshua Whelan, baritone
Robert Milne, bass

Last weekend I sang in MCO’s Evening with Richard Rodgers as part of the Third Annual Opera Festival — it all went swimmingly.  Thanks to my coperformers Vanessa Buhr-Rountree, Ross Thompson and the classy and talented Kate Carver!

I just got home from the most beautiful memorial service I’ve ever attended.  My friend and colleague Barbara Thompson Wilson died earlier this week, and her service (meticulously planned by her) was a tour de force of music, liturgy, poetry, prayer and celebration of a life well-lived. She did me the honour of asking me to sing a few weeks ago, when she knew that her time was running out — Dido’s Lament, no less.  She was a great lady, a wonderful artist, and a gracious and loving friend.  Hope you enjoyed the service, Barbara — we miss you!

I’m getting ready for my third Opera Valentine in a row. It should be fun this year: we have me, Andrea Jeffrey, Ross Thompson, Leete Stetson and Justin Simard singing. It’s all Italian repertoire, as usual, but it’s the first time we’ll be presenting the evening at the Maritime Conservatory.

For more information, check out the Opera Nova Scotia Website.

and now I have to really get cracking on the Vivaldi and Handel I’m singing next month.  But before I do, I just want to share my favourite photo from Saturday night’s performance …  thanks to Doug Cooke for taking the photo!

Me (La Zia Principessa), Meghan Walsh (La Badessa) and Mehgan Atchison (Suor Angelica) 

Suor Angelica opened at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool, NS on Wednesday night, and it went really well. Mehgan Atchison (who’s singing Angelica) got a huge standing ovation, and rightly so. The Astor is a great venue to sing in, with a warm, voice-friendly acoustic — and I really enjoyed doing La Principessa there.

I also got to try out my new recorder: the Edirol R-09 by Roland. Man, this is one sweet little gizmo! I recorded the entire opera in CD quality onto one 1 gig Smart Disk from the built in mics, and it sounds amazing.

Here’s a little sample — you’ll hear me then Mehgan Atchison.

I’m in the midst of preparing for a few gigs that are coming up. First up is Puccini’s Suor Angelica, for MCO. I’m singing La Zia Principessa, which is my favourite Puccini mezzo role. Who wouldn’t love it? I get to be mean to the poor little soprano! Then I have the solos in the Vivaldi Magnificat, which I’ve never done before. They are quite bravura, and I’m looking forward to them — I’m singing them in Toronto with Ensemble Tryptych. And it wouldn’t be Christmas without a Messiah or two, would it? My first is with the Cantabile Singers of Truro, directed by Ross Thompson.

Here’s why I love the role of La Zia Principessa so much — this is her “aria”. (No, that’s not me, silly, it’s Christa Ludwig, whose oro-pharynx I am not worthy to lick …) Click the pink “play” button …