{"id":115121,"date":"2025-06-12T10:43:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T14:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=115121"},"modified":"2025-06-13T16:28:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:28:52","slug":"preview-banff-bound-vocalists-hillary-tufford-maeve-palmer-christian-matta-organize-benefit-banff-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/06\/12\/preview-banff-bound-vocalists-hillary-tufford-maeve-palmer-christian-matta-organize-benefit-banff-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Banff Bound: Vocalists Hillary Tufford, Maeve Palmer & Christian Matta Organize Benefit For Banff Workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Mezzo-soprano Hillary Tufford; tenor Christian Matta; pianist Helen Becqu\u00e9; soprano Maeve Palmer (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mezzo-soprano Hillary Tufford, soprano Maeve Palmer, and tenor Christian Matta are looking forward to participating in the upcoming Interplay workshop at The Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity. There\u2019s just one fly in the ointment: the workshop is not fully funded for the artists.<\/p>\n

The Interplay workshop, according to The Banff Centre, allows early-career opera, music, and theatre professionals to participate in either a fully produced version of The Handmaid\u2019s Tale, or to workshop other new chamber works that are in development.<\/p>\n

Palmer, Tufford, and Matta will be working on The Handmaid\u2019s Tale, as well as works by Canadian composer Karim Al-Zand, and a reimagining of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.<\/p>\n

The three artists, together with pianist Helen Becqu\u00e9, have decided to present a concert fundraiser of opera favourites on June 19<\/strong> to help them offset the costs.<\/p>\n

The Artists<\/h2>\n

Maeve Palmer, Soprano<\/h3>\n

Coloratura soprano Maeve Palmer is an alumna of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and the University of Toronto (UofT) Opera School. She earned a doctorate from the UofT, where the topic of her research was Irish traditional singing. Maeve has performed with Opera Atelier, Tapestry Opera, and Chorus Niagara, among other companies. Recent roles include Aunt Lydia (Ruders\u2019 Handmaid\u2019s Tale, Banff Centre), Adina (L\u2019Elisir d\u2019Amore, Highlands Opera), Genio (Haydn\u2019s Orfeo ed Euridice), Adele in die Fledermaus with Stratford Symphony Orchestra, and [Helena] cover and Ensemble in Tapestry Opera\u2019s RUR: A Torrent of Light (Nicole Liz\u00e9e).<\/p>\n

Hillary Tufford, Mezzo-Soprano<\/h3>\n

Canadian mezzo soprano Hillary Tufford is a recent graduate of Western University with a Masters in Literature and Performance, and she was invited to join the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program at Vancouver Opera. Hillary starred as Carmen with Toronto City Opera and made her Soundstreams debut in Garden of Vanished Pleasures. Recent concert performances include Messiah with the Bach Elgar Choir, and with the Elmer Iseler Singers. She\u2019s looking forward to performing in Bach\u2019s St. Matthew Passion at Banff Centre for the Arts this summer.<\/p>\n

Christian Matta, Tenor<\/h3>\n

Italian-Canadian tenor Christian Matta is pursuing his Master of Music in Operatic Performance at the University of Toronto, while building a versatile portfolio of stage credits. Recent operatic performances include Gastone in La Traviata, Ferrando (cover) in Cos\u00ec fan tutte, and Raymond Massey in An Actor Prepares, as well as concert performances of Handel\u2019s Esther, Mozart\u2019s Requiem, and Vivaldi\u2019s Gloria. In 2024, Christian performed in concert at the National Gallery of Siena as part of the SienAgosto Festival. At the Banff Centre this summer, he will perform as the tenor soloist in Bach\u2019s St. Matthew Passion.<\/p>\n

Helen Becqu\u00e9, Piano<\/h3>\n

Belgian pianist Helen Becqu\u00e9 gave her European d\u00e9but at the age of nine, and went on to study at the
\nKoninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels. She followed up with graduate study at the M\u00fcnchen Hochschule f\u00fcr Musik und Theater, and a series of competitions as finalist and winner, including the International Hugo Wolf Competition in Stuttgart, the \u2018Das Lied\u2019 competition in Berlin, and the University of Toronto DMA Recital Competition. She is a JUNO-nominated artist (2020) and has served as Music Director for OIC (Opera in Concert) and SOLT (Summer Opera Lyric Theatre). She serves as a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where she completed her DMA.<\/p>\n

The Music<\/h2>\n

They\u2019ll be performing a repertoire of arias, duos and trios drawn from opera\u2019s most beloved works.<\/p>\n

Arias<\/h3>\n

Christian<\/strong><\/p>\n

Una furtiva lagrima, L’elisir d’amore<\/p>\n

Maeve<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laughing song, Die Fledermaus
\nDouce enfant, Cendrillon<\/p>\n

Hillary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amour viens aider, Samson et Dalila
\nHabenera, Carmen<\/p>\n

Duos<\/h3>\n

Hillary & Maeve<\/strong><\/p>\n

Belle nuit, Les contes d’Hoffmann
\nPur ti miro, L\u2019incoronazione di Poppea<\/p>\n

Christian & Maeve<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’ll go away together, Street scene
\nUn di Felice etera,<\/p>\n

Trios<\/h3>\n

How can I keep from singing?
\nSoave sia il vento<\/p>\n

The Concert<\/h2>\n

The concert takes place a noon on June 19, 2025. Here are the details:<\/p>\n