Lauren Margison, soprano; Timothy Cheung, piano / Jason Jestadt, piano; Tom Jestadt, drums; George Koller, bass; Rob Piltch, guitars. Koerner Corridor, August 2, 2025.
Like father like daughter, you say? Completely.
I’m referring to celebrated Canadian tenor Richard Margison and his daughter, rising opera soprano Lauren Margison. They each have fantastic operatic voices, combining great thing about tone with hall-filling quantity, a surfeit of squillo supported by stable method and enviable musicality.
Father Richard, now retired, loved a distinguished worldwide profession whereas his daughter Lauren is following in his footsteps. Equally exceptional is their versatility. Father Richard started as a folksinger-songwriter, singing Gordon Lightfoot tunes in native cafes in his hometown of Victoria BC, earlier than embarking on a giant opera profession.
Equally, daughter Lauren started in folks and jazz. When she was nonetheless in highschool, she was a member of the jazz group Actual Divas. There’s a beautiful video clip of a really younger Lauren together with her buddies in Tea For Two here. Now in a full fledged classical profession, Lauren Margison continues to incorporate jazz and folks in her performances.
Lauren Margison
I first heard her sing jazz and pop in a noon-hour live performance on the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, perhaps so long as fifteen years in the past. I knew nothing about her at the moment. I used to be extraordinarily impressed by her superb voice and her remarkably idiomatic supply. In truth, with very uncommon exceptions — Eileen Farrell involves thoughts — only a few classical singers can cross musical genres with such ease.
I’ve heard her a number of instances in opera, however not in a blended program like this one. Fortunately I used to be invited by Adrianne Pieczonka to attend this live performance at Koerner Corridor, introduced as a part of the Worldwide Congress of Voice Lecturers’ conferences in Toronto. It was a program of classical songs and arias and pop and jazz requirements. Given it’s an viewers of voice academics, I can solely think about how nerve-wracking it could possibly be!
Efficiency
With Timothy Cheung on the piano, Margison opened with that solemn ode to the ability of music, Schubert’s “An die Musik,” a music that by no means fails to maneuver me. It was adopted by the good aria “Don’t utter a phrase,” sung by Vanessa in Samuel Barber’s opera by the identical identify.
Her full lyric soprano sounded nice in Elsa’s Dream, a task tailormade for her. For a giant voice, her agility is spectacular, as evidenced in “Come scoglio,” with runs as much as a excessive C, no much less. The primary half concluded with an excellent “Tune to the Moon” from Rusalka.
The second half of seven songs opened with the acquainted “Shedding My Thoughts” from Stephen Sondheim’s Follies. Margison sang it with heat, unforced, mellow tone, altogether a superb rendition. She’s not afraid to deliver the chest voice up excessive, essential in pop singing however mainly verboten in classical voice. Using a mic meant she didn’t must push the chest register.
I’m being completely sincere after I say that her “Fly Me to the Moon” was as fantastically delivered as any I’ve heard. This music additionally confirmed off the fantastic Jason Jestadt Ensemble, a band that Margison has labored with an amazing deal. She additionally sang one among her personal items, a heartfelt “Chasing Taking pictures Stars,” effectively applauded by the enthusiastic viewers.
Closing Ideas
The formal a part of this system concluded with “Possibly this Time” from Cabaret, with Margison displaying that she will belt with the perfect of them.
She was introduced again repeatedly — and whenever you’re so cherished by an viewers of voice academics, you understand you’re doing one thing proper!
Her encore was one among my favorite arias, “Ebben? ne andro lontana” from La Wally, ending with an enormous B pure, a incredible finish to an amazing recital.
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Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent College and Affiliate Editor of Opera Canada.He’s additionally a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His curiosity in music journalism focuses on voice, opera in addition to symphonic and piano repertoires. He seems recurrently as a panel member of the Large COC Podcast.He has co-edited a guide, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Tradition, Efficiency, printed by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).
