{"id":113132,"date":"2025-03-31T14:44:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T18:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=113132"},"modified":"2025-04-01T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T12:00:01","slug":"interview-rising-canadian-tenor-zachary-rioux-talks-career-next-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/03\/31\/interview-rising-canadian-tenor-zachary-rioux-talks-career-next-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Rising Canadian Tenor Zachary Rioux Talks About Career Next Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L:
L: Tenor Zack Rioux (Photo Credit: Xenia Puskarz Thomas); R: La Boheme in rehearsal at the Manitoba Opera with L; Zachary Rioux (Rodolfo) and R: Suzanne Taffot (Mimi) (Photo courtesy of Manitoba Opera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You know the saying, \u201cA good man is hard to find\u201d? Add the word \u2018tenor,\u2019 and you\u2019ll describe Zack Rioux<\/a> to a T \u2014 pun intended.<\/p>\n

At 28, which is a very young age for an opera singer, Zachary Rioux \u2014 Zack to his friends \u2014 is showing great promise, and for good reason. Blessed with a golden tenor voice, boyish good looks, solid training, potent communicative power, and an innate desire to show the opera world what he can do, his future is bright indeed.<\/p>\n

I have been following his development for some years. A graduate of the Glenn Gould School where I first heard him in masterclasses, Rioux went on to hone his instrument at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Hugely successful in competitions, he won prizes at Neue Stimmen, the Berlin International Music Competition, and the Vienna International Music Competition, to name a few. I recall how impressive his Tamino was at the Glenn Gould School\u2019s Die Zauberfl\u00f6te in 2019. He even turned heads as an impossibly young Cavaradossi in Tosca for Toronto City Opera, albeit with piano accompaniment. It still showed off a voice of clarion beauty coupled with an endearing stage persona.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to last July in Munich, when I attended a performance of Parsifal at the Bayerische Staatsoper. I was there mainly to catch the great Canadian baritone Gerald Finley as Amfortas. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the supporting role of Vierter Knappe was taken by none other than Zachary Rioux. It turned out that he was a member of Bayerische Staatsoper\u2019s Opernstudio, a prestigious training ground for up-and-coming young singers.<\/p>\n

I went on his YouTube page for a quick refresher. Among his video clips was a 2022 concert appearance at the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie, a summer program run by renowned Canadian soprano\/pedagogue Edith Wiens. Rioux\u2019s Flower Song from Carmen revealed a beautiful, bright, ringing tenor, used with taste and musicality, demonstrating in no uncertain terms that Mr. Rioux is ready for prime time.<\/p>\n

Given our serendipitous Munich encounter, I quickly arranged an interview, found a quiet spot in the opera house for a little catching up. The interview was later completed over the phone.<\/p>\n

\"Tenor
Tenor Zack Rioux sings the title role in a children\u2019s opera, Max und die Superheld:Innen, Bayerische Staatsoper (Photo: Wilfrid Hosl)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zachary Rioux: The Interview<\/h2>\n

Great to see you doing so well, Zack! Let\u2019s start from the beginning \u2014 tell us about your early upbringing. Where\u2019s hometown for you? Do you come from a musical family?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was born in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, into a family of musicians \u2014 mostly rock and folk musicians \u2014 so I grew up loving classic rock. I first started learning guitar at the age of four, and by seven, I took my first singing lessons.<\/p>\n

Singing lessons at seven? Wow\u2026 Who was your voice teacher?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started studying voice with Myriam Poitras, and when she moved away three years later, I continued lessons with her mother, L\u00e9ola Dionne. As a kid, I regularly competed in music festivals, singing hymns and art songs. I generally did well, often placing at the provincial level in my age group.<\/p>\n

Sounds like you already knew what you wanted to do in life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t truly passionate about it. At one point in my teenage years, I even considered quitting. I was also very active in sports as a kid because I wanted to try everything. At the time, no one, including me, had any idea that I would ever consider a career in singing. In fact, the only reason I was put in voice lessons was so that I\u2019d have the option to play guitar and sing in a band if I wanted to. That changed when I was 15 or 16. L\u00e9ola\u2019s other daughter, Chantal Dionne \u2014 who is also an opera singer \u2014 suggested that I apply to the Orford Music Academy, a weeklong summer program. I believe I was the youngest singer to ever attend. At Orford, I had the opportunity to work with Fran\u00e7ois Le Roux, Sanford Sylvan, and Richard Turp. I think they could tell at the start that I wasn\u2019t entirely sure about pursuing singing, but something clicked by the end. It was like a switch flipped, and I realized this was what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n

When did you start to seriously contemplate a career in opera?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At that time, I knew almost nothing about opera. I applied to a few music schools across Canada and eventually chose to attend the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto for my undergraduate degree, where I studied with Dr. Joel Katz.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s crazy is that I don\u2019t think I had ever even watched a full opera before I was in one! In my first year, I sang in the chorus for Mozart\u2019s Lucio Silla, put on by Opera Atelier. Even then, I still had moments of doubt about whether I truly wanted to be a singer. But as I continued in my studies, I became more and more certain that I was destined to be an opera singer.<\/p>\n

Since you\u2019re a tenor, I must ask \u2014 do you have a favourite tenor? A role model?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have several! In my opinion, Franco Corelli is the greatest Italian tenor of all time. I used to listen to him constantly, though I\u2019ve learned not to try and replicate his technique. His voice was so unique that it likely wouldn\u2019t work for anyone else.<\/p>\n

I also like Mario Del Monaco \u2014 his voice was like a trumpet! Some criticize him for pushing too much, but his voice always rang, his vibrato was clear, and I\u2019m sure he could always be heard at the back of any hall. I also like Giuseppe Giacomini \u2014 every time I hear a recording of him, I\u2019m speechless. And I must include arguably the greatest Canadian tenor of all time, Jon Vickers. Not just because of his immense talent, but because his voice is the one mine has been compared to most often. If I can have even half the career he had, I\u2019d be incredibly happy!<\/p>\n

Well, as someone who had the good fortune of hearing all four live and in person, I can say you have good taste. You\u2019re still in the early stages of a career, so I want to ask you \u2013 what are your dream roles, roles that you hope to sing some day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At this point in my career, I\u2019m focused on the full lyric and young spinto tenor repertoire. Rodolfo is a perfect example of where my voice is right now. Other roles I\u2019d love to perform at this stage include Pinkerton, Macduff, Werther, Lensky, and the Prince in Rusalka. Looking ahead a few years, I hope to take on Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), Maurizio, Pollione, Cavaradossi, Erik, Radam\u00e8s, and Don Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

That sounds like a good plan. I\u2019m glad that you\u2019re going to wait a bit before tackling Cavaradossi on the mainstage. Always be mindful of \u2018too much, too soon.\u2019 What are your plans for next season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve truly enjoyed my time here in the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio. But after conversations with knowledgeable people in the business, like Tobias Truniger (head of the Munich Opernstudio), Edith Wiens (head of Internationale Meistersinger Akademie), Brigitte Fassbaender, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Margaret Honig and others, they all feel that what I need most for my development is stage experience singing larger roles. So next season, I\u2019ll be moving on to focus on guesting or potentially seeking new Fest contracts in Europe.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll also do competitions and role studies, and dedicating more time to creating my own content on social media. After running the International Meistersinger Akademie\u2019s social media for two years, I\u2019ve developed a real interest in it! I really enjoyed working as IMA\u2019s social media manager, but I had to move on this season as I felt I needed to invest more time into my career.<\/p>\n

And I understand that now you have professional representation. Congratulations!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, since last season I\u2019ve been represented worldwide by ArteMIS Opera, a European agency run by Julie Martin du Theil and Alice Lapasin Zorzit.<\/p>\n

What engagements do you have coming up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[In] April, I\u2019ll be singing Rodolfo in Manitoba Opera\u2019s La Boheme. I\u2019ll also have a professional role debut at a house in Switzerland, with an announcement to come.<\/p>\n

Wonderful that you\u2019re returning to Canada to sing Rodolfo next month. Give us your thoughts on singing this great role.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rodolfo is one of the most iconic tenor roles in all of opera, and it\u2019s a role I\u2019ve spent countless hours working on over the last few years. I first prepared and performed it while at the Academy of Vocal Arts in 2022, under the direction of AVA\u2019s music director, Christofer Macatsoris. It\u2019s definitely one of the most daunting tenor roles \u2014 not only because of its difficulty but also due to the opera\u2019s immense popularity. \u201cChe gelida manina\u201d is one of the most famous arias in the repertoire, and with that comes a certain level of pressure.<\/p>\n

However, the environment at Manitoba Opera has made me feel incredibly comfortable. Everyone in the cast and production team is so kind \u2014 we all get along very well, and that\u2019s exactly the type of atmosphere you want when making a professional role debut.<\/p>\n

Have you worked with Manitoba Opera before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been eager to work with Manitoba Opera for some time. I first appeared on their radar when I applied for the inaugural Digital Emerging Artists Program during the pandemic. Since then, we\u2019ve kept in touch, looking for the right opportunity, and I\u2019m so grateful that the timing worked out for this production. I truly feel that Rodolfo is the perfect role for me at this stage in my career.<\/p>\n

Thanks for speaking with me \u2014 we\u2019re now all caught up. Toi toi toi to you and everyone for a successful Boheme opening night!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Fast-rising Canadian tenor Zachary Rioux reflects on his burgeoning career and looks forward to his future vocal journey, including an upcoming role in Manitoba Opera’s La Boheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":113135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,29,43],"tags":[4540,38389],"yst_prominent_words":[23973,9021,9057,29284,6886,6938,10142,6619,10395,9958,24265],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-03-31T143823.134.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-tqI","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113132"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113157,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113132\/revisions\/113157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113132"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=113132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}