From Carnegie Hall to Breno. Maghan McPhee is a Canadian soprano with a brilliant career who has sung in many of the prestigious concert halls of her country and of the United States. From the 5th of June she has been in Breno, at the Accademia Arte e Vita, where, with the association Cieli Vibranti, she has conducted a masterclass of opera singing for young students.

The final concert showcased students Kaitlan Brazeau, Danielle Masson, Chloe Monette, Hana Packard and Deanna Singh, promoted by the association Amici dell’Accademia Arte e Vita, is scheduled for tonight, on via Maria Santissima di Guadalupe (free entry), with a program full of surprises.

Maghan McPhee talks about how the project was born:

In February I received an email from Mauro Bertoli, who is one of my colleagues at the University of Carleton in Ottawa and who you know very well in Brescia. He proposed that I imagine an opera singing course to be held in Italy, combining the discovery of the beauties of the country with the study and the perfection of vocal technique. We chose to work with a few singers, in collaboration with internationally renowned pianist Carl Philippe Gionet to create a unique program for young singers, tailoring it to their needs. Breath and body awareness, interpretation, diction, and mental fortitude for performance are all part of what the students are learning. The results have been excellent: the Academy is the perfect place to make music, be nurtured and inspired. We also have had the opportunity to take time away from our studies to admire the incredible rock engravings and Romanino’s artistic masterpieces in the church in Pisogne.

Maghan: what does Italy represent for a singer?

Italy is the birthplace of opera. Simply listening to an Italian speak, one understands the possibilities of the human voice, that Italians understand naturally! A singer can’t really grasp the deep sense of the musical culture without visiting your wonderful country.

What can you tell us about your students?

This year, they range between sixteen and twenty-five years old and come from Canada and the United States and most of them are visiting Italy (and Brescia) for the first time. They have been enchanted by the kindness of the nuns who run the Accademia, by the food and the landscapes that are an unlimited source of inspiration.

What is the program of tonight’s concert?

We will showcase a varied program, suitable to the performers’ voices. Pieces by Mozart, Caldara, Giordani and many more. I will also sing some pieces that will come out on my new recording in November.

Do you imagine to continue this project again in the future?

This is just the beginning. The experience of the participants has been overwhelming, therefore we intend to renew the collaboration with the association Cieli Vibranti, that has been a fundamental organizational reference point and with the Accademia Arte e Vita, to make this project grow. I also hope to add a piano masterclass with Mauro (Bertoli himself). I’m sure that we will still sing in Breno and Brescia for many years.