LESLIE FAGAN
Back by popular demand, soprano Leslie Fagan has a voice that Peterborough flocks to hear. "Her voice sounds nothing short of astonishing,"writes Robert Thomas in Wholenote. "She is in a class of her own."

The Ottawa-born soprano, who now lives in Hamilton, has delighted audiences and critics alike at Roy Thomson Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Carnegie Hall. Recently (April 2010), she performed Mozart's Mass in C Minor with Musica Sacra at Carnegie Hall. But her Carnegie Hall debut took place in December 2007, when she sang in the Musica Sacra performance of Handel's Messiah under the baton of Richard Westenburg.

"Leslie Fagan was more adventurous in her embellishments and took a few risks as well, soaring fleetingly into an upper range ... she gave "How Beautiful Are the Feet of Them" and "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" the dignified grace they require," wrote Allan Kozinn of her performance in Messiah at Carnegie Hall in 2007.

Leslie has been fortunate enough to share the stage with many great artists including Victor Borge and Maureen Forrester. And she has sung under the batons of such noted conductors as Hans Graf, Sir David Wilcocks, Jukke Pekke Saraste, Kent Tritle, and Daniel Lipton.

On the opera stage, Leslie has sung the title role in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix, Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Sophie in Massenet's Werther, Musetta in Verdi's La Bohème, and Nanetta in Verdi's Falstaff. At the Aldeburgh Festival in England, she performed the roles of Tytania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

This versatile soprano can be heard frequently on CBC radio and has appeared on CBC television and both BBC radio and television. Her recordings include the debut solo album Le miroir de mon amour and A Song for all Seasons with The Toronto Children's Chorus.

Leslie Fagan is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she studied with Madame Irene Jessner and Lois Marshall. Prior to entering university, she studied privately with Catherine Robbin and Greta Kraus. In 2001, Leslie was the recipient of a Chalmers Grant, which enabled her to study with the great Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubas in France. In the summer of 2007, she traveled to Italy to study with Martin Isepp at the Centre for Operatic Studies Sulmona Italy, which led to an invitation to work with this master of Mozart privately in London, England.

In between her busy performing schedule, Leslie collects antique furniture and designs and makes many of her performance gowns.

SARAH STEINERT
Sarah Christina Steinert, mezzo-soprano, has completed her Master of Music Literature and Performance (Voice) at the University of Western Ontario, where she also holds an Honours Bachelor of Music Performance.

Her recent engagements include the role of "Dog" in the December 2009 premiere of Opera Lyra Ottawa's newly commissioned opera The Bremen Town Musicians, the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Guelph Chamber Choir and the Music Viva Orchestra, the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9, op. 125 with Symphony Hamilton, Cecilia March in M. Adamo’s Little Women, the Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, the Mother/Grandmother in S. Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood, the Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Zauberflöte, the Mother in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and the chorus and understudy to the role of Marcellina for Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Her other credits include being the assistant conductor of the women’s choir, Trinity Singers at Trinity College School for 2004-2005. She was also a finalist in the 2001 London Opera Guild Competition.

While at Western, Sarah was privileged to study with Alvin Reimer and Elizabeth Peters. She has also been privileged to work with Anita Krause, Bruce Kelly, Mark Payne, Leila Chiacchia, Edith Bers, and Phyllis-Bryn-Julson.

Critics have praised him as a "rich-voiced, cultured tenor who mastered the high notes effortlessly" (Coburg Tageblatt, Germany) and an "effective communicator who expressed the text with sensitivity and fervour" (Hamilton Spectator). His recordings and broadcasts include performances on American Public Radio (NPR), the Canadian Music Centre (Centrediscs), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Radio 2).

Currently, Darryl Ewards is Associate Professor and Head of Voice Studies at the University of Toronto, and he has gained fame as "the coach behind many of Canada's best young voices" (Toronto Star). Demand for his master classes has taken him to such distant venues as Prague, London, and New Zealand. His students have appeared with many of the world’s leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), the Bavarian State Opera (Munich), Chicago Lyric Opera, the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (London), the Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Washington National Opera, Zurich Opera, the Greek National Opera, and San Francisco Opera.

SEAN WATSON
Sean Watson is a graduate of the opera programme at the University of Toronto. He has sung throughout Canada, Europe, and the Middle East and has been a featured soloist on several international television and radio broadcasts.

In October of 2003, he made his Opera Ontario debut as Dr. Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and, in the spring of 2004, he made his Opera in Concert debut as Argante in Rinaldo, which was subsequently recorded for Naxos. Since then, he has performed many times with Opera in Concert in such works as Donizetti's Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda. He has also appeared with Opera Ontario as Masetto in Don Giovanni, as well as with the Toronto Operetta Theatre as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow and Prince Ypsheim in Wiener Blut.

Recent performances include The Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Opera Hamilton, the title role in The Mikado with the Toronto Operetta Theatre, and in John Estacio's The Houses Stand Not Far Apart with Chorus Niagara and the Orpheus Choir.

Sean has sung many oratorios and choral works as well, performing with the likes of the Ottawa Choral Society, the Kingston Symphony, the Elora Festival Singers, Early Music Vancouver, the Windsor Symphony, and the Carmel Bach Festival in California.