Julia LoRusso and Angela Gjurichanin are Two Sopranos, and they’ll be presenting a recital at Toronto’s Heliconian Hall on August 16, together with pianist Paul Digout. The concert is a showcase for the two emerging singers setting out on professional careers.
This will be the second Two Sopranos concert. “We already did our first Two Sopranos concert in London in December,” Julia says. Both singers are graduates of the University of Western Ontario. Julia graduated in 2024, Angela in the spring of 2022.
Ludwig-Van talked to the two vocalists about the concert, and their careers.
Two Sopranos: Julia LoRusso & Angela Gjurichanin
Julia LoRusso
Julia performed as a soloist in the London Community Orchestra’s 2018 Young Soloist Concert, and was featured in Opera Nuova’s Coast to Coast recital series in 2020.
She made her operatic debut as Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and then Morgana in Handel’s Alcina in 2021, and her European debut at the Berlin Opera Academy in Germany, singing the role of Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. She has performed with a variety of chamber ensembles and orchestras, and was a Prize Winner at the 2024 Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition.
Angela Gjurichanin
Angela was born in Macedonia, where she began studying music at the age of six. After graduating from a music high school in 2015, she immigrated to Saskatchewan with her family. The adjustment to living in Canada was difficult, and when she began her undergraduate studies in music at the University of Saskatchewan, she intended on focusing on theory and academia. It was a professor who convinced her she was born to sing. She moved to London, Ontario, to complete her graduate studies in music. Much of that took place during the COVID pandemic.
She was one of the district winners of the prestigious Laffont Competition in 2021, and won the Gordon Wallis Opera Competition in 2022. Since then, she’s performed with the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar, and Grand River Opera, among others.
Collaborative pianist Paul Digout works extensively at the University of Western Ontario as well as in other programs across Canada and in Europe, including Opera NUOVA, Halifax Opera Workshop and the Yorkshire Opera workshop.
The Interview
“I’m from London, and I did my undergrad there as well in music,” Julia explains. She mentions dedicated professors at Western, including Jackalyn Short, a sentiment which Angela echoes.
What’s next after the concert? “I am an incoming member of the Vancouver Opera Young Artists’ Program,” LoRusso says. She’ll be heading out to the west coast for her residency in September.
“The concert is somewhat of a send-off,” Julia adds.
Angela will continue pursuing her career in London. “I’m doing the audition circuit, and performing locally.”
Julia has other engagements arranged in Vancouver as well. “I’m going to performing as a soloist with the Vancouver Bach Choir in February,” Julia says.
Along with auditions, Angela is also looking forward to the holiday season later this year. “I’m excited to do another Messiah with Choral Connection in December. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The pair may take the Two Sopranos concert format down the road to Vancouver to perform there during Julia’s time in the Vancouver Opera Young Artists’ Program. “We’d like to continue these concerts,” she says.
The Recital
On the program for the August 16 recital will be 2 Duos, Op.11 by Ernest Chausson, and Deux duos pour deux sopranos, Op. 10 by Gabriel Fauré.
“It’s very difficult, we’ve found, to find something for two sopranos,” Julia says.
Both vocalists feature similar colours and tones in their voices. It’s meant that, at university productions, for example, they’d be competing for the same roles — rather than singing together. It’s also meant tweaking arrangements at times.
“For us, it’s also an opportunity. Even in school, we never got to perform together,” Angela says.
The two were often double cast in the same roles. “You get to watch the other person, but never get to perform together,” Gjurichanin adds.
Each concert is a chance to showcase something a little different than the usual operatic role.
“It’s a nice even split between us two,” LoRusso says of the program.
“We do it back and forth between the songs, who sings the highest line,” Angela adds. It’s about finding a balance. “It’s a bit of a challenge.”
- Find tickets for the August 16 recital of Two Sopranos [HERE].
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