Nora Sourouzian

Nora Sourouzian is a French-Canadian mezzo-soprano with Armenian roots.

Nora Sourouzian
Nora Sourouzian 2019
Born	Montreal, Quebec
Alma mater	McGill University
Occupation	Singer
Website	www.norasourouzian.com

Early life and education

Born in Montreal, Quebec, she studied piano and voice at McGill University with Thérèse Sevadjian. During her time at McGill University she already sang Mrs Herring in Albert Herring, the title roles in Giulio Cesare and Mignon, the Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, as well as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal.

From 1998 to 1999 she was a member of the Internationaal Opera Centrum Nederland in Amsterdam, where she sang Lucrezia in The Rape of Lucretia.

Artistic career

From 1999 to 2001, Sourouzian was part of the soloist ensemble of Staatstheater Kassel.

Since 2002 Sourouzian is a freelance opera singer. Her career, which leads her all over Europe, parts of USA, Canada, Chile, Asia and Mexico, consists of numerous leading roles both of well-known and rare repertoire. One of her key roles throughout many years has been Carmen which she interpreted in many opera houses such as Welsh National Opera (2004), Klagenfurt, Oper im Steinbruch St. Margarethen [de] (2005), Opéra de Québec, Den Norske Opera (2006), the Teatro Comunale Ponchielli in Cremona] (2008), Opéra de Lausanne and Tokyo (2008–2009), Oper Köln (2009), Leipzig and Bologna, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (2010), Minnesota (2015).^[1] and Palm Beach Opera (2016); She recently appeared in Santiago de Chile with Mahler's Symphony No. 3^[2] and sang Marguerite in La damnation de Faust at the Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico.^[3]

Sourouzian sang leading roles such as: Idamante (Mozart, Idomeneo), Dorabella (Mozart, Così fan tutte), Romeo (Bellini, I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Marguerite (Berlioz, La damnation de Faust),^[4] Dulcinée (Massenet's Don Quichotte, production of Laurent Pelly in Palermo),^[5] Laura (A. Ponchielli, La Gioconda)^[6] and La Favorita (Donizetti, La favorite),^[7] Eboli (Verdi, Don Carlo)^[8] and Azucena] (Verdi, Il trovatore).^[9] Her role debut and strong interpretation of the role at Graz Opera in 2017 was highly acclaimed in the press.,^{[10][11][12][13]},.^[14] In January 2019 she appeared at Seattle Opera also in the role of Azucena.^[15]

Alongside well-known repertoire, Sourouzian regularly sings opera roles of rare pieces. She sang Aloès^[16] in David Pountney's production of Chabrier's L'étoile under John Eliot Gardiner at Zürich Opera House in 2006,^[17] Maria Callas in Michael Daugherty's opera Jackie O in a production of Damiano Michieletto, which is available on DVD.^[18] Further she sang the role of Zuléma in Théodore Dubois' Aben-Hamet under Jean-Claude Malgoire,^[19] Herodias in Antoine Mariotte's opera Salomé,^[20] the role of Florinda in the newly written opera O Rapaz de Bronze by Nuno Côrte-Real [pt],^[21] as well as the role of Marfa in Dvořáks opera Dimitrij at Bard SummerScape, New York, in summer 2017.^[22] Her interpretation of Thérèse (Massenet, Thérèse) and Anita (Massenet, La Navarraise) at the Wexford Festival 2013 was highly praised in the international press.^[23]

Sourouzian collaborates with directors such as Calixto Bieito (Così fan tutte), Robert Carsen (Carmen), Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier (Carmen), Christine Mielitz (Così fan tutte), Christof Loy (Carmen), David Pountney (L’Étoile), Barbe & Doucet (Pénélope, Thérèse and La Navarraise) and Vera Nemirova (Rusalka at Theater St. Gallen 2019).^[24]

She has so far sung under the baton of conductors like Christoph Eschenbach, Marc Minkowski, Ed Spanjaard, Franz Welser-Möst, Hubert Soudant, Dietfried Bernet, Cyril Diederich, Joseph Rescigno and Nicholas McGegan.

Competitions

• First prize at Prix d'Expression Musicale – 1995
• Winner at Fondation Charles Emiles Gadbois
• First prize at Concours de la Journée de la Musique Française – Montréal 1997
• Second prize at Début-CBC – USA 1997
• First prize at NATS International – 1997
• First prize in all categories at Concours de Musique du Canada 1997
• First prize at Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques 1999^[25]
• Finalist at Hans Gabor Belvedere – Vienna 1999
• Finalist at the 3rd Wagnerstimmen Wettbewerb Saarbrücken in 2000^[26]

Recordings

• Jackie O, Michael Daugherty
• Salome, R. Strauss
• Atma Classic Gala 30th Anniversaire Montreal

References

1. "Nora Sourouzian". 2014-02-19.
2. "Concierto de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile: Sinfonía n°3 de Mahler - Universidad de Chile". www.uchile.cl. Retrieved Sep 22, 2019.
3. "Berlioz condena a Fausto al infierno por amor a Margarita. Mefistófeles triunfó. Público complacido en Bellas Artes". 2019-03-03.
4. "Faust als echter "Langeweiler" - Stadttheater Klagenfurt: "Fausts Verdammnis"".
5. "Don Quichotte di Massenet a cento anni dal debutto in un nuovo allestimento firmato da Laurent Pelly prodotto dal Teatro Massimo | Comunicati - Teatro Massimo Palermo".
6. "Details".
7. "Reference - Operabase".
8. "GARS/ Burgfestspiele: DON CARLO. "Verdi und der "Herr der Ringe" als packendes Opernspektakel. Premiere". 2015-07-18.
9. "Triumph für Azucena in der Grazer Neuproduktion von Il trovatore".
10. Opernglas, Aufführungen, November 2017, page 16-17.
11. "Il Trovatore | Oper Graz".
12. "Graz". 30 December 2022.
13. "Kritik/Oper Graz: Verdis "Troubadour" im Varieté". 2017-10-05.
14. "Perfekte Premiere von Giuseppe Verdi´s "Il Trovatore"". October 2017.
15. "Review, "Il Trovatore": Impressive Seattle Opera debuts for Meade, Muehle, Mayes and Sourouzian – January 13, 2019". 2019-01-16.
16. Opernglas, ZÜRICH, L'Etoile, Januar 2007
17. "Kritiken: Chabrier / l'Étoile".
18. "Michael Daugherty - Jackie O". Discogs.
19. "Théodore Dubois | Anaclase". www.anaclase.com. Retrieved Sep 22, 2019.
20. Rupert Christiansen (18 October 2014). "Nora Sourouzian – New Music". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
21. "Opera "O Rapaz de Bronze" em estreia mundial na Casa da Musica". Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 14 September 2007.
22. "Bard SummerScape Festival 2017 Review – Dimitrij: A Flawed Production Makes Compelling Case for Dvořák's Rarely Heard Sixth Opera – Opera Wire". August 2017.
23. Rupert Christiansen (31 October 2013). "Massenet's Thérèse/La Navarraise, Wexford Festival Opera, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
24. "Theater St.Gallen".
25. "Le Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 a 35 ans (1976-2011)". www.scena.org. Retrieved Sep 22, 2019.
26. RWV Festschrift (in German)

External links

• Official website