Bringing opera to the masses

BY HOLLIE WATSON



Throughout an illustrious career that has spanned 20 years, Manrico Tedeschi has performed to accolades at the world’s leading opera houses.

Now the internationally renowned tenor is spearheading a concept that promises to add an exciting new element to the West Island’s thriving cultural scene.

“I’m hoping to introduce people to the joy of opera,� said the Pierrefonds resident, who has shared his gift with audiences at such fabled venues as La Scala and Carnegie Hall (in January he returns to New York City to perform Verdi’s Requiem as part of the hall’s 50th anniversary celebrations).

To that end he has organized a concert series, the first which will be held this weekend in Dollard des Ormeaux.

The Manrico Tedeschi Opera Club is fashioned after a Sunday-afternoon tradition with which he first became acquainted while living in Italy.

“People would get together to listen to young singers who need experience. After the concerts they would all get together to chat,� he explained.

The first concert will showcase the talents of soprano Makiko Awazu, tenor Francesco Verrechia, and mezzo soprano Sophie Laganiere. The program will feature music that will quickly strike a chord with concert-goers.

“They will sing some well-known pieces, from operas like Carmen and La Bohème,� he said, adding there will

also be a small exhibition of local artwork as well.

“My goal is eventually to present a concert with an orchestra, preferably at Salle Pauline Julien in Ste. Geneviève next year.�

He also hopes to offer occasional workshops.

Tedeschi was studying microbiology in university when he rediscovered a long-held passion for opera. “My father was an opera nut, and like most Italians I got fed tenors when I was young.�

Even his daughters’ names, Aida and Gilda, are taken from two of the most famed operas in the repertoire; his son sings in a local chorus.

Before going to Italy to study, Tedeschi trained in the West Island, travelling from his then home in Notre Game de Grâce.

The second concert on Nov. 16 will be held at Chateau Ramezay in Montreal, while on Dec. 16 the series returns to the Church of the Nazarene. Three more monthly concerts are scheduled in the New Year at the Pierrefonds Cultural Centre; there is also a later performance booked at Maison Trestler in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

People are encouraged to bring their children along, as the concerts provide an ideal opportunity to expose them to opera at an early age, he said.

“So many don’t know what the human voice really sounds like.�

Saturday’s concert, which is also a benefit for the church, gets under way at 7 p.m. at 455 Spring Garden Rd. For tickets, call 514-684-2220. For more information or to join the Manrico Tedeschi Opera Club, call 514-626-8146.