Manitoban opera singers back together for one night

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This article was published 20/03/2018 (2228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra audiences are in for a double treat when two of the city’s best-loved vocalists, Tracy Dahl and Andriana Chuchman join forces tonight in an intimate program of solos and duets.

“This is a really big deal,” Manson says in a publicity video. “Both Tracy and Andriana have world-class careers… and it’s very unusual that on a single concert you will hear two singers in the same repertoire,” she says of the evening that will feature works by Mozart, Monteverdi, Debussy and Saint-Saëns, among others. “It’s a wonderful way to celebrate these two Winnipeg singers who have both developed international careers.”

The concert also honours the unique, close-knit relationship between the two Winnipeg-born artists. Dahl is Chuchman’s former voice teacher, who joined the voice studio at the University of Manitoba’s School of Music in 1999 as a 17-year-old. She quickly became one Dahl’s star students.

Their lives have also entwined in more personal ways. Chuchman served as Dahl’s “road nanny” for her two sons, Jaden and Anton, with Dahl’s husband, high-school teacher Raymond Sokalski, while Dahl’s singing tour sent her to St. Louis, Boston and Vancouver.

“During my time with Tracy at the U of M, I would have weekly lessons, and would see her boys regularly and we made a special connection,” Chuchman says. “This made it very easy to travel with them and be their nanny, as I loved them dearly… I had a front-row seat of Tracy’s life as an opera singer, a wife, and a mom, and how she valiantly and admirably juggled and managed all of these aspects.”

For Dahl, that life has included performing in major houses around the world, including the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Canadian Opera Company. She was awarded the Order of Canada in June 2017 for her stellar opera career — she is regarded as Canada’s premier coloratura soprano — and her ongoing commitment to mentoring the next generation of singers.

Chuchman has likewise garnered critical acclaim and has performed around the world, including her Los Angeles Opera debut in 2015 with Spanish star Placido Domingo.

But there’s something else the simpatico artists share in common. They both notably replaced ailing sopranos on nail-bitingly short notice at New York City’s fabled Metropolitan Opera House: Dahl as Adele in Die Fledermaus in 1991, and Chuchman as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore in 2014. Those respective debuts have led to many subsequent appearances for both singers at the Met, including Chuchman’s recent portrayal of Valencienne during its December-January production of The Merry Widow.

It took until January 2017 for their professional lives to finally intersect — the MCO concert tonight marks only the duo’s third time-sharing a stage. Dahl sang the role of Madame Mao in Houston Grand Opera’s production of John Adams’ Nixon in China, while Chuchman portrayed the former American president’s wife Pat Nixon — they even roomed in together during the intensive rehearsal process.

“It was a great honour working with Andriana. I was so proud of her success in Houston,” Dahl recalls. “She was everything I imagined her to be as a colleague; her artistry always speaks for itself.”

Tonight’s program sees them divvying up the vocal parts for each selection, taking turns as the lead soprano as well as singing in the lower mezzo-soprano range, both eagerly anticipating performing in their hometown.

“It’s wonderful to come home and sing for a familiar audience filled with family and friends,” Chuchman reveals. “There’s a certain vulnerability there that you don’t get when performing for an audience of strangers. It elevates it in a certain way… and makes it that much more exciting!” she says. “I have much love and gratitude for this woman.”

For her part, Dahl is also excited to share the stage with her protégé.

“Pure joy followed by a good dose of nerves. I am hoping that the joy overcomes the nerves. I have to walk the talk, and keep up with my ‘student,’” Dahl responds. “Andriana is a colleague now and that is very special to be sharing our voices together here and at home.

holly.harris@shaw.ca