Find out what the critics are saying
about Allyson's Juno/Ino!
"...mezzo Allyson McHardy is all creamy,
dark magic as Jupiter's jealous wife, Juno (and Ino, Semele's
sister)." (Toronto Star, 10 May 2012)
"...mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy['s]
gutsy singing took full measure of the goddess's wrath."
(Globe and Mail, 10 May 2012)
"With her powerful, dark mezzo-soprano,
Allyson McHardy clearly distinguished her two roles of the
rash, girlish Ino from the imperious Juno, wife of Jupiter,
who plots a gruesome but appropriate revenge on the hapless
Semele. She sang her rage aria “Hence, Iris, hence away” to
tremendous effect." (Stage Door, 10 May 2012)
"McHardy defines her imperious Juno and
offended Ino, both driven by jealousy, with believable emotion
and theatrical detail." (Now Magazine, 17 May 2012)
"In the dual role of Ino/Juno, Allyson
McHardy sings with conviction with creamy low notes and plenty
of vigour." (Charlebois Post, 10 May 2012)
May
9
Allyson
opens tonight as Juno and Ino in the Canadian Opera Company's
Semele
March
10
Allyson Hosts CBC Radio 2's This is
My Music, March 10, 2012
Join Allyson on Saturday, March 10th 10:00
a.m. (11:00 AT, 11:30 NT) as she hosts CBC Radio 2's celebrated
show This is My Music. Find out what kind of music Allyson
likes to listen to along with stories and anecdotes about
her life and career.
Reviews of Allyson's debut as Carmen
with Pacific Opera
"Mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy is singing
the title role for the first time here. Her Carmen is proud
and defiant, languidly sensual but also quick to ignite, though
fundamentally decent, and there is both smoke and fire in
her voice." (Times Colonist, 18 February 2012)
"In her role debut as Carmen, mezzo Allyson
McHardy displayed a gorgeous tone." (Monday Magazine, 22 February
2012)
"Allyson McHardy plays a lovely Carmen. She's
quite petite but she's a real spitfire. And she really comes
on and takes control." (CBC On The Island, 22 February 2012)
Allyson is in Victoria getting ready
for Carmen with Pacific Opera - Check out the following interviews:
Victoria
Times Colonist
- Allyson speaks with Amy Smart about her path and what type
of music she prefers to listen to
Allyson's recording of Caldara’s La Conversione
di Clodoveo with Le Nouvel Opéra (ATMA) is up for Classical
Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance at the 2012
JUNO Awards.
The awards will be handed out at ceremonies
in Ottawa on March 31st and April 1st. For more information
on the JUNO Awards visit their website: junoawards.ca
January
2012
Allyson captivates in Toronto as Dejanira
Handel's Hercules with Tafelmusik!
"...particular kudos go to Toronto mezzo
Allyson McHardy, who dazzled as Dejanira. McHardy's voice
is pure, fragrant, dark buckwheat honey - just the ticket
for a particularly demanding role. Paired with dramatically
riveting and technically impeccable renditions of Handel's
bravura arias for a character walking the tightrope between
sanity and madness, this mezzo captivated from the moment
she sang her first note." (Toronto Star, 19 January 2012)
"The Toronto mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy
was clearly the prima donna as Dejanira: warm, intense and
a subject of real interest despite the conventional outpouring
of passions." (National Post, 20 January 2012)
"Top vocal honours went to mezzo Allyson
McHardy as Dejanira. Hers is a genuine low mezzo bordering
on a lyric contralto, with a timbre that brings to mind the
excellent contralto Nathalie Stutzmann, but McHardy has a
stronger, more solid upper extension, a rare attribute for
a low voice. Dejanira has the most music to sing, and McHardy
dispatched everything with technical ease, intensity and expression.
Particularly memorable was her Act 3 Scene 3 aria with its
bravura passages - McHardy's performance here was a tour de
force." (La Scena Musicale, 21 January 2012)
"Hercules may be the title character,
but the show really centres on Dejanira. McHardy's voice has
only grown darker, stronger and more lustrous over time. ...she
gave a gorgeous account of "Begone, my fears, fly hence, away"
and made the mad scene "Where shall I fly? Where hide this
guilty head?" so thrilling that the audience, trained not
to applaud after every number, broke that rule thunderously
to acclaim her." (Stage Door, 21 January 2012)
Those who can't make it to Paris to catch
Allyson in her acclaimed role as Arcabonne in Amadis de Gaule's
have a chance to hear it on Saturday, January 21st starting
at 7:30pm (local time in Paris) on the France
Musique website.
Check out this video
clip from France TV about the production currently
running at the Opéra Comique. The first reviews are
in:
"Also reason to celebrate, Allyson McHardy,
who doubles as the wicked fairy Morgane, an impressive force
in both sadness and in anger..." (La Croix, 2 January
2012)
"Allyson McHardy's fiery Arcabonne delivers
the goods." (Financial Times, 5 January 2012)
"It is certainly a coup for mezzo Allyson
McHardy who takes the honour among the cast members - generous,
raging, tormented, regal as the Queen of the Underworld captive
of her own passion." (Webthéa, 4 January 2012)
"‘Vocally young, the cast is dominated
by the attractive mezzo Allyson McHardy…. " (Le Monde,
6 January 2012)
"Bravo certainly to Allyson McHardy,
imperious Arcabonne, she carries the intrigue and the opera."
(Concert Classic, 3 January 2012)
"The women are definitely at a higher
level: ……and especially Allyson McHardy as the evil Arcabonne.
" (L'Oeil et l'Oreille, 2 January 2012)
"Enchanted, the public at the first performances
in Versailles gave an extremely enthusiastic, almost triumphal,
response to the women soloists, Hélène Guilmette and Allyson
McHardy..." (Le Nouvel Observateur, 1 January 2012)
December
2011
A magnificent debut as Arcabonne in
JC Bach's rarely staged opera Amadis de Gaule at the Château
de Versailles
"…the excellent Allyson McHardy in the role
of Arcabonne. From the liveliest fury to the very intense
sentiments of love, Allyson McHardy perfectly incarnates this
ambiguous character…she reveals with great accuracy the complexity
of a character that the music of Johann Christian Bach has
perfectly designed." (ConcertoNet, 12 December 2011)
"One also finds the essential quality of the
opera in the very beautiful voice of Allyson Mcardy, who perfectly
incarnates the role of the enchantress drunk with anger and
demanding vengeance. The warmth of her timbre is magnificent.
It vibrates and we want more." (La Tribune, 11 December 2011)
