Queen of Puddings Music Theatre co-founder Dáirine Ní Mheadhra is the arts winner of this year’s $50,000 Molson Prize, awarded and administered by the Canada Council.
It’s a significant sum and substantial recognition for Ní Mheadhra. For nearly 20 years, she has worked tirelessly to push the creative boundaries of opera and multidisciplinary theatre in Toronto. Because of the high level of craft and care that go into every project, Ní Mheadhra and co-founder (and co-artistic director) John Hess have been able to tour many of their shows to other parts of the world.
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One of Queen of Puddings’ early successes was the 1999 opera Beatrice Chancy, written by James Rolfe and George Elliott Clarke. It also served as a launching pad for a young soprano from Fredericton, N.B., Measha Brueggergosman.
The company’s most recent show was the captivating Beckett: Feck It!, presented at the Berkeley Street Theatre earlier this year. Svadba-Wedding, a new opera by Montreal composer Anna Sokolovic, was premierd in Toronto last year, and will tour to the Belgrade Music Festival in Serbia and the Théâtre d’Orléans in France this October, followed by a trip out to Calgary and Edmonton in January, 2013.
The Canada Council press release included this background information from the jury:
In awarding the Molson Prize to Dáirine Ní Mheadhra, the selection committee remarked on “the excitement her work generates, its innovative nature and its significant ramifications in the theatre, new music and opera communities.” The committee had special praise for her ability to bring together artists from different backgrounds and achieve results through them that raise the standard for creative interdisciplinary work. It noted that the arc of her career has been amazing: she has significantly shaped the way opera is viewed in this country and on the world stage.
Irish-born Ní Mheadhra trained as a cellist, and began her professional career with the Irish National Orchestra at age 17. She emigrated to Canada after marrying Hess in 1994.
The humanities winner of the other $50,000 Molson Prize is University of Toronto professor Karen Rice, who is being honoured for her work with Aboriginal languages.
“Breathing new life into traditional languages is a common theme of this year’s Canada Council Molson Prizes,” said Robert Sirman, Canada Council Director and CEO, in the press release. “Dáirine Ní Mheadhra and Keren Rice have expanded the public reach of both contemporary opera and Aboriginal languages, and done so with an exemplary combination of innovation and excellence.”
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
