Marie-Nicole LEMIEUX

• 1st prize, Chant 2000
  

In 2000, at the age of 24, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux became the first Canadian to win the 1st Prize as well as the Special Prize for Lieder at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium. Winning this prestigious award opened the door to an immediate international career, allowing her to perform in recital and in concert with many great orchestras, such as l'Orchestre National de France, l'Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, l'Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie, l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, The Academy of Ancient Music, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, l'Ensemble Matheus, Les Violons du Roy, l'Ensemble orchestral de Paris, Modo Antiquo, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre philharmonique de Saint-Petersbourg, l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, The Québec City Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. She has sung with conductors such as Richard Bradshaw, Franz-Paul Decker, Charles Dutoit, Paul Goodwin, Bernard Labadie, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Marc Minkowski, Kent Nagano, John Nelson, Gianandrea Noseda, Peter Oundjian, Michel Plasson, Federico Maria Sardelli, Michael Schonwandt, Marc Soustrot, Yoav Talmi, Ilan Volkov and Pinchas Zukerman.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux has recorded on various labels. She took part in two recordings with Cypress (Belgium); she sang in Mozart's Requiem with Les Violons du Roy, with Dorian Recordings; she recorded 3 CD's with Analekta: Haendel (Italian Cantatas), Scarlatti and Vivaldi (Salve Regina and Stabat Mater) and Brahms (Lieder). In 2004, she recorded the title role of Orlando, in Vivaldi's Orlando furioso with Ensemble Matheus, under the baton of Jean-Christophe Spinosi for the French Naïve label. This recording was acclaimed as the « Best recording of the year » at the French "Victoires de la Musique" in Paris, in 2005. In the same year, Ms. Lemieux sung the role of Unulfo in Haendel's Rodelinda with Il Complesso Barocco, under Alan Curtis, for Deutsche Grammophon. Her first recital CD (L'Heure exquise) of French melodies with piano on the Naïve label, with which she now enjoys an exclusive contract, was hailed by the critics and the public alike. In the Fall of 2006, a new opera recording has been released with Ensemble Matheus, in which Marie-Nicole Lemieux sings the title role of Vivaldi's Griselda. In 2007, she recorded a Vivaldi CD.

Recently, she sang with "Les Violons du Roy" in Quebec City and in Toronto, has participated in a tour across Canada with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano, she performed at the opening concert of the prestigious Club Musical de Québec series and she has participated in a concert version of Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

www.marienicolelemieux.com