South African-Canadian mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal has quickly established herself as a young singer to watch. Critics praise her tone for its “gleaming, luscious timbre” (La Scena Musicale) and her operatic interpretations as “absolutely sensational” (Paula Citron), “spectacular” (The Toronto Star) and “alluring, sexy, her voice rich in nuance” (Opera Magazine). Opera News praised, "Mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal used her lustrous voice and fine acting ability to convey the Muse's hope and frustration and provided moral grounding for the entire production” and her recent performances of M'dea in M'dea Undone have been hailed as "ferocious" (Now Magazine), "extraordinary" (Opera Going Toronto) and "incredibly powerful" (Schmopera).
Highlighted regularly during her time with the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Ms. Segal has most recently returned to the company in critically acclaimed performances of The Muse/Nicklausse in
Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Meg Page in
Falstaff. Other appearances with the Canadian Opera Company include Flora in
La Traviata, Aljeja in Janáček’s
From The House of The Dead, Sonya in Prokovief’s
War and Peace, Diane in Gluck’s
Iphigénie en Tauride, Mercédès in
Carmen, Nancy T'Sang in
Nixon in China, Dryade in
Ariadne auf Naxos, Dritte Dame in
Die Zauberflöte, Popova in Walton’s
The Bear, Dritte Magd in
Elektra and Siebel in
Faust. The singer was the only Canadian to participate in the inaugural Salzburg Festival Young Artist Project.
In the upcoming 2019/20 season, Ms. Segal returns to the Canadian Opera Company for their production of
Rusalka as the Third Wood Nymph and to Tapestry Opera in their experimental production of
Tap:Ex Augmented Opera. She will perform Tippett's
A Child of Our Time with Chorus Niagara, Mozart's
Requiem with Music and Beyond, Handel's
Messiah with Brott Music Festival, Bach's
Mass in B Minor with the Masterworks of Oakville Chorus and Orchestra, Brahm's
Liebeslieder Waltzes with Northern Debut Nord and returns to the Hamilton Philharmonic for performances of Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9 and Bruckner's
Te Deum.
In the 2018/19 season, Ms. Segal returned the the Canadian Opera Company at Dritte Madd in
Elektra as well as for their production of
Eugene Onegin, and returned to Calgary Opera as Maddalena in
Rigoletto. On the concert stage, Ms. Segal returned to the Grant Park Music Festival in Haydn's
Theresa Mass, to the Victoria Symphony in Handel's
Messiah and made her debut with the Okanagan Symphony in Verdi's
Requiem and with the Regina Symphony in Mozart's
Requiem.
Ms. Segal returned to Calgary Opera in her 2017/18 season in her role debut as Olga in
Eugene Onegin as well as to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and National Arts Centre both for Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9. She made her debut with the Grant Park Music Festival in Martin's
In Terra Pax, performed with the Brott Music Festival in Mahler's
Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9 and with the Nova Scotia Symphony in Mozart's arrangement of Handel's
Messiah.
In the 2015/16 season, Ms Segal appeared with the Canadian Opera Company as Flora in
La Traviata as well as with l’Opéra de Montréal as Emilia in
Otello and Pacific Opera Victoria as Hermia in
A Midsummer Night's Dream. She made her debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Florida Symphony and l'Orchestre de Chambre McGill in Handel's
Messiah and sang with Agianst the Grain Theater at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival as the alto soloist in Janáček’s
Diary of One Who Disappeared.
In the 2013/14 season, Ms Segal appeared as Meg Page in Falstaff with l’Opéra de Montréal and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Calgary Opera. She made her debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Coronation Mass as well as with Niagara Symphony in Mahler’s Leider eines fahrenden Gesellen. She was heard in Bach’s St. Johns Passion with the Grand Philharmonic Choir, Dvořak’s Requiem with Chorus Niagara, Respighi’s Il Tramonto and Zemlinsky’s Maiblumen blüten überall with the Calidore String Quartet at the Montreal Music Festival, with the new series Recitals at Rosedale and as Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Toronto Masque Theater at the Westben Music Festival and Festival of the Sound. She also participated in the Beakerhead Festival in a concert that celebrates the meeting of science and the arts.
Ms Segal’s 2012/13 season included Maddalena in Rigoletto with both Opera Hamilton and Manitoba Opera, The Muse/Nicklausse/A Voice in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Edmonton Opera, Métella in Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne with Toronto Operetta Theatre and the title role in Carmen with Saskatoon Opera. Her concert performances included Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Richard Eaton Singers, a gala concert with the Brott Music Festival, recitals with the Canadian Art Song Project and Off Center Salon and a performance with Against the Grain Theatre in Janáček’s The Diary of One who Disappeared.
Highlights of Ms Segal’s 2011/12 season included the title role in Carmen with the Brott Music Festival, a role which she went on to understudy under the baton of Maestro Lorin Maazel with the Fondazione Lirico Sinfonica Petruzzelli e Teatri di Bari. She sang Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Hamilton, The Muse/Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Diane in Iphigénie en Tauride with the Canadian Opera Company as well as in galas both l’Opéra de Montréal and the Aldeburgh Connection.
Equally at home on the concert platform Ms. Segal’s recent concert performances include Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Orchestra Toronto, Handel’s Messiah with the Vancouver Bach Choir, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Windsor Symphony as well as appearances at the Westben Festival in Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben, in recitals with Le FestiVoix de Trois-Rivières and the Aldeburgh Connection in Bayfield, and with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in Opera under the Stars. Additional concert repertoire performed in seasons past include Handel’s Messiah with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and Victoria Symphony, an Opera Gala performance with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Elijah with Nézet-Séguin and Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal.
In addition to her operatic and concert work, Ms. Segal has been involved in the film industry where her most recent work has resulted in the short film ‘Dalila’ produced by Acquamarina Productions. ‘Dalila’ has been screened at the Chicago International Music and Movies Festival and the Italian Contemporary Film Festival and follows a trilogy of short films also with Acquamarina Productions entitled ‘DESIRE: An Operatic Trilogy’. Inspired by arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen and Vivaldi’s Bajazet, the three installments of the trilogy - ‘Cherubino’, ‘Carmen’ and ‘Irene’ - have been screened at multiple film festivals including the Palm Springs International Short Fest, the Chicago International Music and Movies Festival where ‘Cherubino’ won a Special Jury Award, The Eugene International Film Festival where ‘Carmen’ and ‘Irene’ won Best Art Short Awards, the 8th Annual Park City Film Music Festival 2011 where ‘Irene’ won multiple awards including the Director’s Choice Award as well as the Nevada City Film Festival, the Female Eye Film Festival, the Delta International Film and Video Festival, the North by Northeast Film Festival and the Sciacca Filmfest. The Trilogy most recently won the Jury’s Prize at Altidona, 2º Festival del Corto “Ciak sul Fermano” in Marche, Italy in the Spring of 2014.
Lauren Segal is a two-time recipient of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Encouragement Awards. She holds a Master’s of Science degree from the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto.
Ms. Segal gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Peter Paul Charitable Foundation.
