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The American-born Canadian sorano, Monica Whicher, was born into a musical family; her parents studied voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto during the 1950's. Her father, James Whicher, studied with George Lambert, and sang in the chorus of the Canadian Opera Company (COC). She began her musical studies on the piano at the age of 6, but after hearing her mother's performance of Haydn's Nelson Mass, turned her musical interests decidedly to singing. She studied in Toronto with Lois Marshall, and later in the University of Toronto's Opera Division during the late 1980's. In 1988 she was the recipient of a scholarship from ARIAS, the Canadian Opera Student Development Fund. Scholarships from the Canadian Aldeburgh Foundation allowed her to pursue further studies in England at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Later, while in the COC Ensemble Studio (1991-1993), she received the prestigious George London Prize in addition to a role preparation grant from the Sullivan Foundation and a career development grant from the Canada Council.
In 1993, Monica Whicher became a freelance artist. In 1994 she performed the part of Elisa in the COC's production of W.A. Mozart's rarely performed opera Il Re Pastore, her first major role. Her connection with Opera Atelier began in 1999 when she sang in a production of Rameau's Pygmalion. Whicher also sang the role of the Countess in W.A. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro (2003), Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas during Opera Atelier's Korean tour (2005), and Mérope in Lully's Persée (2004).The Globe and Mail reported; "Soprano Monica Whicher was superb as Mérope, whose hopeless love for Persée makes her the emotional center of the piece. She sang with lustrous tone and true poignancy that humanized the entire opera." In the 2010-2011 season, she played the role of Aprano in the North American premiere of Antonio Vivaldi's Montezuma with Houston's Mercury Baroque.
As evidence of her versatility, Monica Whicher has been actively involved as a recitalist and soloist throughout North America and Europe. Her first professional recital was with the Aldeburgh Connection in their 1989 Spring Schubertiad while she was a student. Other Aldeburgh recitals include performances of Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch with Russell Braun and premieres of works by Canadian composers like John Beckwith. She has also appeared with such diverse ensembles as the Thirteen Strings in Ottawa, the Art of Time Ensemble, the Talisker Players, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Barcelona Symphony. A frequent guest at festivals throughout the world, she has sung at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Festival International de Lanaudière, the Michoacán Festival of Music and Culture in Mexico, and the Lamèque International Festival of Baroque Music.
Highlights of Monica Whicher's career include a performance of W.A. Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Exultate, Jubilate in Bilbaoa, Spain with Helmuth Rilling; J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor (BWV 232) with the Vancouver Bach Choir; and a performance of J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She was a founding member of the Toronto Bach Consort in 1992 along with bassist Timothy Dawson and baritone Gordon MacLeod. Proceeds from concerts and recordings are donated to charity.
Monica Whicher was nominated for a Juno Award 2002 for “Singing Somers Theatre” (Centrediscs), as well as two Dora Mavor Moore Awards: in 2004 for Outstanding Performance in Opera Atelier's production of W.A. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, and in 2005 for Opera Atelier's Dido and Aeneas. She was praised for her Naxos recording of Castor et Pollux. Her critically acclaimed portrayal of Mérope in Lully’s Persee with Stephanie Novacek, sopranos; Olivier Laquerre, bass-baritone; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Hervé Niquet, conductor can be seen on the EuroArts/Naxos DVD (2005). She is featured on the Juno-Award winning CD's "Mozart's Magic Fantasy", "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" and "Daydreams and Lullabies" (all three for Classical Kids). Recent recordings include "Lullabies and Carols for Christmas", with harpist Judy Loman for Naxos, and "The Art Songs of Mykola Lysenko", "The Art Songs of Yakov Stepovyi", and "The Galicians", all for the Ukrainian Art Song Project. She has been heard on CBC, NPR and the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
In 2007 Monica Whicher joined the voice faculty at the Glenn Gould School and later, the University of Toronto (2008). She joined the Board of the Art Song Foundation of Canada in 2018. |
