New Guard: Four Talents to discover at the Atelier lyrique

During the 2021 Talent gala last November, auditions were held for the Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier lyrique. Nine exceptional finalists succeeded one another onstage at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. Four were given

the nod by jurors, who felt each had the voice and potential for opera stardom.

Emma Fekete

Emma’s big dream is to play the role of Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, in Montréal. After five years at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she completed a Master’s degree in Classical Singing and received the prestigious Holland Scholarship and Talent Grant, the 26-year-old soprano is enthusiastic about returning home. “Wilfrid-Pelletier is the stage from my childhood,” she says, “the place I would go to see Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. And I love what the Opéra de Montréal is becoming, opening up to young people, its contemporary works, its social role. This desire to reinvent itself speaks to me and inspires me.”

Originally from Val d’Or, the avid crosscountry skier was bitten by the musical bug at the age of four, after hearing a neighbour playing the violin. “Once was enough for me to know that music would become my life.” It’s a great message to share with children all over the world.

Emma Fekete, 2021 Talent gala

Mikelis Rogers, 2021 Talent gala

Mikelis Rogers

Jealousy — that’s what led Mikelis Rogers to opera. “I was six years old, and my older sister had just started singing lessons. I wanted singing lessons, too, and my parents said yes.” It was the right thing for them to do because, 20 years later, the Ontario baritone, who completed his Bachelor’s degree in Music at the University of Toronto, is about to enter the Atelier lyrique.

There were a few detours along the way, of course, particularly into photographic and video production — but music was never very far away. “My mother comes from Lapland and, and although she is not a musician herself, singing is part of her culture. She once took me to a large festival near Riga. There were 40,000 choristers, all connected to one another by song. That magic is part of my heritage.”

The first things he will do after arriving in Montréal? Go to an Alouettes game, and learn French, “so that I’m not an anglophone tourist in Quebec.”

Angelo Moretti

He is only 24 years old, but Angelo is already well on his way. In 2014, with a pop group, he made it to the finals of the Canadian television show The Next Star. “Right afterwards, we went on tour. I still remember the concert in Montréal — it was at Club Soda!”

The band’s vocal coach was a soprano who quickly recognized Angelo’s vocal potential. “She asked me to sing her a classic Italian art song, then offered to prepare me for auditions at the University of Toronto, which were six months away.” That is how he went from pop to opera in record time.

For the Toronto tenor, his musical conversion is, first and foremost, an homage to his origins. “My grandfather was an Italian immigrant who loved to sing, but never had the chance to train. With my Master’s degree, and with this program at the Atelier lyrique, I will be realizing his dream.” Angelo has also inherited his grandfather’s recordings of Mario Lanza and Luciano Pavarotti. One day, it will be Angelo we applaud following his rendition of Puccini’s “Che gelida manina.”

Karoline Podolak Born in Toronto, Karoline earned a Master’s in Opera in Katowice, Poland, and has already appeared on major stages in Europe and the United States. There is no doubt that Karoline’s star is on the rise. For this 29year-old soprano, Montréal is the natural next step on this journey, because “when it comes to opera, this is clearly the place to be. “I come from a musical family in which everyone plays an instrument. I myself learned the violin and guitar at a very young age, and I’ve always been in choirs.” She was actually at a choir festival in Poland when a teacher spotted her and changed her destiny. “I was 26, and had worked at a radio station in Toronto for four years, but I left it all behind to devote myself to opera.” Her favourite roles? Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Violetta (La Traviata) and Pamina (The Magic Flute). And, when she’s not rehearsing, Karoline enjoys a bit of fishing on the shores of Lake Ontario. We’re betting that the fishing will be just as good in Quebec!

Karoline Podolak in La Traviata, Bulgaria National Opera of Sofia (photo: Svetoslav Nikolov)

Angelo Moretti as Almaviva in Rossini’s Barber of Seville, University of Toronto Opera