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Among her many achievements, Quebec-born mezzo-soprano Renée Lapointe has won the Raoul-Jobin Prize in 1990 and, as part of the 1993 Cultural Excellence Awards, the Stage Prize, both awarded by the Fondation de l'Opéra de Québec. In concert, Renée Lapointe has become known for her inspired performances of Mozart’s Requiem, Händel's Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Berlioz’ Les Nuits d'été, and of sacred works by Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Vivaldi. Besides her frequent appearances in recitals and oratorios, Renée Lapointe has performed the title role of CARMEN in Bizet's Carmen as well as the one of MERCÉDES, the roles of MÉLISANDE in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, BRADAMANTE in Händel’s Alcina, HERMIA in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, LAZULI in Chabrier’s l’Étoile, and PAULINE in Tchaikovsky's La Dame de Pique . With the Opéra de Québec, she sung the Second Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute, GIANNETTA in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, ORESTE in Offenbach's La Belle Hélène, and FRÉDÉRICK in Thomas’ Mignon. She perfomed in the world premiere of Il suffit d'un peu d'air byClaude Ballif, under Lorraine Vaillancourt, performing the role ofMATHILDE. Renée Lapointe was hailed in France in the role of ALISA in Lucia di Lammermoor, and, in Toronto, in the roles of ORSINI in Lucrezia Borgia and PIEROTTO in Linda di Chamounix, allworks by Donizetti. Leading an active solo career, Mrs. Lapointe has appeared with such distinguished conductors as Eduardo Mata, Bernard Labadie, Hervé Niquet, Charles Dutoit, Yoav Talmi, etc. She has also been a guest soloist with the Jeunesses Musicales World Youth Orchestra, the Alcan String Quartet, l’Ensemble Arion, la NEF, the Studio de Musique ancienne de Montréal, l'Ensemble Anonymus, I Musici de Montréal, Quartango, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy. Ms. Lapointe was invited to perform at the opening night in the prestigious Festival de Wallonie in Brussels in October 2001; she also toured the Netherlands in the same year, singing the 1st role (ROSA) in the musical drama Leitmotiv with the Théâtre des Deux Mondes from Montréal. She was also guest soloist in Berlioz's Les Nuits d’été at the Festival de Loches (Touraine, France), as well as at the Festival international de Lanaudière (Canada), where she was praised for her intense and poetic interpretations. In 2005, Renée Lapointe performed the role of SADIA during the world creation of the symphonic rendering of the Rock-opera Starmania by Berger & Plamondon with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and in a series of concerts in Paris. She also toured with world-known guitarist Rémi Boucher in the recital “A Night in Seville”. Ms. Lapointe is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. |
