Julia LoRusso and Angela Gjurichanin are Two Sopranos, and so they’ll be presenting a recital at Toronto’s Heliconian Corridor on August 16, along with pianist Paul Digout. The live performance is a showcase for the 2 rising singers setting out on skilled careers.
This would be the second Two Sopranos live performance. “We already did our first Two Sopranos live performance in London in December,” Julia says. Each singers are graduates of the College of Western Ontario. Julia graduated in 2024, Angela within the spring of 2022.
Ludwig-Van talked to the 2 vocalists in regards to the live performance, and their careers.
Two Sopranos: Julia LoRusso & Angela Gjurichanin
Julia LoRusso
Julia carried out as a soloist within the London Neighborhood Orchestra’s 2018 Younger Soloist Live performance, and was featured in Opera Nuova’s Coast to Coast recital sequence in 2020.
She made her operatic debut as Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi after which Morgana in Handel’s Alcina in 2021, and her European debut on the Berlin Opera Academy in Germany, singing the function of Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. She has carried out with a wide range of chamber ensembles and orchestras, and was a Prize Winner on the 2024 Toronto Mozart Vocal Competitors.
Angela Gjurichanin
Angela was born in Macedonia, the place she started learning music on the age of six. After graduating from a music highschool in 2015, she immigrated to Saskatchewan along with her household. The adjustment to residing in Canada was tough, and when she started her undergraduate research in music on the College of Saskatchewan, she meant on specializing in idea and academia. It was a professor who satisfied her she was born to sing. She moved to London, Ontario, to finish her graduate research in music. A lot of that came about in the course of the COVID pandemic.
She was one of many district winners of the distinguished Laffont Competitors in 2021, and received the Gordon Wallis Opera Competitors in 2022. Since then, she’s carried out with the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar, and Grand River Opera, amongst others.
Collaborative pianist Paul Digout works extensively on the College of Western Ontario in addition to in different packages throughout Canada and in Europe, together with Opera NUOVA, Halifax Opera Workshop and the Yorkshire Opera workshop.
The Interview
“I’m from London, and I did my undergrad there as effectively in music,” Julia explains. She mentions devoted professors at Western, together with Jackalyn Quick, a sentiment which Angela echoes.
What’s subsequent after the live performance? “I’m an incoming member of the Vancouver Opera Younger Artists’ Program,” LoRusso says. She’ll be heading out to the west coast for her residency in September.
“The live performance is considerably of a send-off,” Julia provides.
Angela will proceed pursuing her profession in London. “I’m doing the audition circuit, and performing domestically.”
Julia has different engagements organized in Vancouver as effectively. “I’m going to performing as a soloist with the Vancouver Bach Choir in February,” Julia says.
Together with auditions, Angela can be trying ahead to the vacation season later this yr. “I’m excited to do one other Messiah with Choral Connection in December. I’m actually trying ahead to it.”
The pair might take the Two Sopranos live performance format down the street to Vancouver to carry out there throughout Julia’s time within the Vancouver Opera Younger Artists’ Program. “We’d wish to proceed these live shows,” she says.
The Recital
On this system for the August 16 recital shall be 2 Duos, Op.11 by Ernest Chausson, and Deux duos pour deux sopranos, Op. 10 by Gabriel Fauré.
“It’s very tough, we’ve discovered, to search out one thing for 2 sopranos,” Julia says.
Each vocalists characteristic related colors and tones of their voices. It’s meant that, at college productions, for instance, they’d be competing for a similar roles — moderately than singing collectively. It’s additionally meant tweaking preparations at instances.
“For us, it’s additionally a chance. Even in class, we by no means received to carry out collectively,” Angela says.
The 2 have been usually double solid in the identical roles. “You get to look at the opposite individual, however by no means get to carry out collectively,” Gjurichanin provides.
Every live performance is an opportunity to showcase one thing slightly completely different than the same old operatic function.
“It’s a pleasant even cut up between us two,” LoRusso says of this system.
“We do it forwards and backwards between the songs, who sings the best line,” Angela provides. It’s about discovering a stability. “It’s a little bit of a problem.”
- Discover tickets for the August 16 recital of Two Sopranos [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 many years, and a artistic writing teacher for Ontariolearn.
