American soprano Angela Meade was the winner of both the Metropolitan Opera’s 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award and the 2011 Richard Tucker Award, and in 2008 joined an elite group of singers when, as Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, she made her professional operatic début on the Met stage. Since then, she has fast become recognized as one of today’s outstanding vocalists, excelling as the most demanding heroines of the 19th-century bel canto repertoire as well as in the operas of Verdi and Mozart. The 2019-20 season began with Ms. Meade’s role début as Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlo at Palacio de la Opera in A Coruña, and Verdi’s Aida in Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu in a production designed by Josep Mestres Cabanes and conducted by Gustavo Gimeno. A surprise return to the Los Angeles Opera brought her portrayal of Queen Elizebeth in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux conducted by Eun Sun Kim. A return to Europe saw her portrayals of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena with Spain’s Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Ópera (ABAO Bilbao), Imogene in Bellini’s I Pirata for her debut at Palermo’s Teatro Massimo, and her debut as Aida at the Arena di Verona. Her concert work included a debut with Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie for Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Alan Gilbert and a recital for Opera Las Vegas.

A native of Washington State and an alumna of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Ms. Meade has triumphed in an astounding number of vocal competitions: 57 in all, including many of the opera world’s most important prizes. In addition to being a winner at the 2007 Met National Council Auditions, as documented in The Audition, a film that was subsequently released on DVD by Decca, she was also the first singer to take first prize in both the opera and operetta categories of the prestigious Belvedere Competition.

Tunisian/Canadian Rihab Chaieb is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program where she appeared in numerous productions, including L’italiana in Algeri (Zulma), Luisa Miller (Laura), Cavalleria Rusticana (Lola) and Hänsel und Gretel (Sandmännchen). She has since returned as a guest in Don Giovanni (Zerlina) under Cornelius Meister, and she appeared there again this season as Nefertiti in Phelim McDermott’s unforgettable production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, conducted by Karen Kamensek.

Demonstrating strong repertoire versatility in recent seasons, Rihab Chaieb debuted as Charlotte in Werther at Opera Vlaanderen under Giedrė Šlekytė, at Houston Grand Opera in the world première of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix, as Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Cincinnati Opera and as Offenbach’s Fantasio at Opéra de Montpellier. For Dutch National Opera, Chaieb sang Lola in Robert Carsen’s new staging under Lorenzo Viotti, Dorabella at Teatro Santiago de Chile, Kasturbai in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha at Opera Vlaanderen, and received unanimous acclaim for her first Carmen in Lydia Steier’s intense new production for Oper Köln.

On the concert stage, Chaieb has performed Mahler and Rossini with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Johannes Debus and Kent Nagano respectively, and in the current season joined Les Violons du Roy and Bernard Labadie for Mozart Requiem, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin for Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at Carnegie Hall. This summer, she joins tenors Michael Spyres and Lawrence Brownlee in a concert of Rossini with Orchestre Métropolitain, conducted by Ariane Matiakh at Festival de Lanaudière.

Last season, Rihab Chaieb joined Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s line-up of soloists for an audiovisual recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Orchestre Métropolitain for broadcast on DG Stage, Deutsche Grammophon’s new online platform.

Dramatic tenor Issachah Savage is garnering acclaim as a “heldentenor par excellence” (San Francisco Examiner). Savage is the winner of the Seattle International Wagner Competition earning the main prize, audience favorite prize, orchestra favorite prize, and a special honour by Speight Jenkins. Formerly a member of San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program, Issachah performed a varied repertoire including scenes from Samson et Dalila, Lohengrin, Die Walküre and Parsifal. His performance of the last act of Verdi’s Otello, inspired the San Francisco Chronicle to write ​“From his opening notes—impeccably shaded and coiled with repressed fury—to the opera’s final explosion of grief and shame, Savage sang with a combination of power and finesse that is rare to observe.”

Operatic milestones of Issachah Savage’s recent seasons include his debut as Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Seattle Opera under Lawrence Renes, his Metropolitan Opera debut as Don Riccardo in Verdi’s Ernani conducted by James Levine, his Los Angeles Opera debut as Narraboth in Salome conducted by James Conlon and his first Siegmund in Die Walküre at the Canadian Opera Company under Music Director, Johannes Debus. 

In the 21/22 season Mr. Savage will return to LA Opera to sing the title role in Tannhäuser. On the concert stage he will sing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Fabio Luisi), Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Gustavo Gimeno) and Los Angeles Philharmonic (Gustavo Dudamel), return to Cathedral Choral Society for Smyth's March of the Women, and join the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (Yannick Nézet-Séguin) in a European tour of Das Rheingold.

Equally at home on the concert platform, Issachah Savage has a wide repertoire that includes mainstay works such as Beethoven, Symphony No.9, Verdi, Messa da Requiem and Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde alongside less-frequently performed pieces like Stravinsky, Pulcinella, Weill, Lost in the Stars and Gershwin, Blue Monday. Savage sang the world premières of Wynton Marsalis’s All Rise under the late Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic, and of Leslie Savoy Burr’s Egypt’s Night with Philadelphia’s Opera North. A much in demand concert soloist, Savage has performed under Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at both the Hollywood Bowl and New York’s David Geffen Hall, under Paul Daniel with the Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, under Stephane Deneve and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, under Lawrence Renes and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and under Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to name but a few. He most recently joined Marin Alsop and the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston for Beethoven Symphony No.9 and returned to Bordeaux for Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Paul Daniel. 

A native of Suffolk, Virginia, Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green has has quickly garnered an international reputation as a “breakthrough star”, appearing at many of the world’s most important opera houses and music festivals. Amongst his many other awards, he was one of the 2021 recipients of the Met’s prestigious Beverly Sills Award. Roles for the Wiener Staatsoper have included Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Banquo in Macbeth, Titurel in Parsifal, Der Einarmige in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Lodovico in Otello, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other recent highlights include Jake in Porgy & Bess at the Theater an der Wien and at the Metropolitan Opera. Other recent successes at the Met have included Colline La boheme and Uncle Paul in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones.

In 2016, Little, Brown & Company published Sing for Your Life, by New York Times journalist Daniel Bergner, telling the story of Mr Green’s personal and artistic journey to the Met stage. Sing for Your Life has been honoured with a number of accolades, including the New York Times bestseller and editor’s choice, a Washington Post Notable Book, and a Publishers Weekly Book of the Year.

Internationally recognized conductor, scholar, and pedagogue Jean-Sébastien Vallée was named as the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s new Artistic Director on May 31, 2021 following an international search.  In addition to his work as Artistic Director of the TMC, Jean-Sébastien is Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Studies, and Coordinator of the Ensembles & Conducting Area at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, and Director of the renowned choir of the Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul in Montreal. Maestro Vallée will conclude his tenure as Music Director of the Ottawa Choral Society with the 2021-22 season. Prior to his return to Canada, Jean-Sebastien served as Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Los Angeles and was on the choral faculty of the University of Redlands.

In addition to his interest in choral, operatic, and orchestral music, Jean-Sébastien is an advocate for contemporary music, making one of his priorities to premiere and commission works by young composers and program rarely performed repertoire.  He has recorded extensively with the Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul.

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is proud to be one of Canada’s oldest, largest, and best-known choral organizations. The Choir includes a core of 20 professional singers and 100 auditioned and experienced volunteer choristers. Led by Artistic Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Choir is planning an exciting and inspirational 2022/23 season, including performances with the TSO.

Through its performances, educational programs, and community engagement, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir aspires to introduce its audiences to choral masterworks from the past and present—making both renowned and lesser-known pieces available, accessible, and inspirational to all. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir made its TSO début in April 1935.