Critically acclaimed Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman brings her innate musicianship, voluptuous voice and a sovereign stage presence far beyond her years to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. as the second concert in the 2010-11 Lawrence University Artist Series.
Tickets, at $22-20 for adults, $19-17 for seniors and $15-17 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office in the Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton or by calling 920-832-6749.
Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a singer of rare gifts and artistic intensity,” the 33-year-old native of New Brusnwick, Canada, has emerged as one of the most magnificent performers and vibrant personalities touring today. She burst onto the scene in 1998 at the age of 20, singing the lead role in the premiere of the opera “Beatrice Chancy” in Toronto. Since then, she has drawn praise for performances throughout Canada, the United States and Europe.
Joanne Bozeman, who teaches in the voice department of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, said Brueggergosman’s passionate approach to performing captivates her audiences.
“Measha is enjoying an active, world-class career and for good reason,” said Bozeman. “She not only has a fabulous, beautifully colorful lyric soprano voice, she performs convincingly in a broad range of genres, languages and venues. Her public image seems to be that of a young, free spirit, but it belies her intense musical sophistication and ability to elicit subtle tonal shading in her singing. She has strong and compelling ideas about the texts of what she sings – perfect for the intimate genre of art song.”
Brueggergosman, who has been known to sing in her bare feet, has performed at many of the world’s great concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall and Paris’ famed Theatre des Champs-Elysees. She has sung with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra and gave a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II. She showcased her talents to a world-wide audience of more than three billion viewers when she sang the Olympic Hymn — in English and French — at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games last February.
She was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2002 Jeunesses Musicales Montreal International Competition and was a prizewinner at The Dutch International Vocal Competition’s-Hertogenbosch, the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in Oslo and the ARD Music Competition in Munich, among others.
Profiled in the CBC-broadcast documentary “Spirit in her Voice,” Brueggergosman also has served as host of the European television cultural variety show “Arte Lounge.”
