Le Gloria de Vivaldi

Bernard Labadie, an internationally recognized specialist in the baroque and classical repertoires, is the founding conductor of Les Violons du Roy. He was the ensemble’s music director from 1984 to 2014 and remains the music director of La Chapelle de Québec, which he founded in 1985.

As head of both ensembles, he has toured Europe and North America performing at some of the most illustrious concert halls and festivals: Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Kennedy Center (Washington), the Barbican (London), Berlin Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris), Brussels’ Centre for Fine Arts, and the Salzburg, Bergen, Rheingau, and Schleswig-Holstein festivals.

In 2017, Bernard Labadie was named principal conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York. He conducts the orchestra’s annual concert series at Carnegie Hall, often with La Chapelle de Québec.

A much sought-after guest conductor in North America, he makes frequent appearances with major American and Canadian orchestras: Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Houston, New World Symphony, Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa. In Europe, he has conducted the Mozarteum of Salzburg and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the orchestras of Lyon, Bordeaux-Aquitaine, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. He has also headed several radio orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the radio orchestras in Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hanover, and Helsinki.

Bernard Labadie regularly collaborates with some of the most prestigious period-instrument early music ensembles: Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, The English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and Handel and Haydn Society (Boston).

At the opera, he served as artistic director of Opéra de Québec from 1994 to 2003 and as artistic director of Opéra de Montréal from 2002 to 2006. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, and the Santa Fe, Cincinnati, and Glimmerglass operas. In 2021, he made his debut appearance at the Glyndebourne Festival.

Both as a guest conductor and with Les Violons du Roy, Bernard Labadie has recorded some twenty albums for Virgin Classics (now Erato), EMI, Pentatone, Dorian, ATMA, Hyperion, and Naïve.

A tireless ambassador for music in his hometown of Québec City, Bernard Labadie was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec, and Compagnon des arts et des lettres du Québec. He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly of Québec, the Banff Centre’s National Arts Award, the Samuel de Champlain Award, and honorary doctorates from Université Laval (Alma Mater) and the Manhattan School of Music.

The young coloratura soprano Myriam Leblanc is the recipient of several prizes: first prize and Audience Choice Award at the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra Competition, Young Lyric Ambassador 2014 (Québec Bavaria prize), winner of an Audience Choice Award in the Center Stage competition of the Canadian Opera Company, third prize in the Auditions Nouvelles Découvertes competition of the Ottawa Choral Society, winner of the excellence grant awarded annually by the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal and the first prize at the Mathieu Duguay Early Music Competition at the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival in 2017. Myriam Leblanc is a versatile artist who works as much in the classical world as in the bel canto, as in the baroque. She is recognized for her timbre of great purity, for her supple and warm voice and her great mastery in both technical and musical expressiveness.

She has shone in the roles of Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto (Opéra de Montréal), Micaëla in Carmen by Bizet (Opéra de Québec), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Saskatoon Opera), Milica in Svadba by Sokolovic (Opéra de Montréal) , Fille-Fleur in Parsifal by Wagner (Orchestre Métropolitain), the High Priestess in Aïda by Verdi (Opera de Montréal) and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette by Gounod (Jeunesses Musicales du Canada). She also specializes in vocal concert works: Mozart’s Requiem (Les Violons du Roy), Handel’s Messiah (Caprice Ensemble), Christmas Oratorio by Bach (Caprice Ensemble), Dixit Dominus by Vivaldi (I Musici), the Magnificat by Bach (Les Violons du Roy), Symphony No. 2 Lobgesang by Mendelssohn (Orchestre Métropolitain), several cantatas by Bach including Ich habe genug and several other works.

Formerly a member of the Atelier lyrique of Montreal Opera, Myriam Leblanc has been a guest soloist of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Métropolitain. Her projects for 2022-2023 include Mimi in La Bohème by Puccini with Francis Choinière and the OSTR and Dido in Dido and Aeneas by Purcell with the Ensemble Caprice, Handel’s Messiah with the Festival Classica and the Tafelmusik Ensemble in Toronto, a tour in Finland with Vivaldi’s Motet In furore iustissime irae and several other projects.

Canadian soprano Sheila Dietrich is a versatile and in-demand performer whose style and vocal technique shine in both concert and operatic roles.

She has appeared as a concert soloist with ensembles across Canada including Les Violons du Roy, the Calgary Philharmonic, The Menno Singers, Nota Bene Baroque Players, The Toronto Classical Singers, The Elora Festival Singers and The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, The Guelph Chamber Choir, and The Bach Elgar Choir.

Operatic roles include Rose (Sullivan Ruddigore), Mother (Menotti Amahl and the Night Visitors), Pitti-Sing (Sullivan The Mikado), Belinda (Purcell Dido and Aeneas), Venus (Gagliano La Dafne), Helena (Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Abigail Williams (Ward The Crucible) and Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Aubert La Forêt bleue).

In 2015, Sheila Dietrich made her Carnegie Hall debut as a featured soloist in a concert devoted to the music of Purcell with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec under the direction of Richard Egarr. She was also a finalist in the 2015 New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition and was awarded the Johannes Somary Prize.

Sheila Dietrich is also a member of Capella Intima, an Ontario based ensemble, which specializes in performing vocal chamber and operatic music of the 17th century. The ensemble recently finished recording their third CD called Music in the time of Plague featuring the music of Heinrich Schütz and the music popular during his time in Venice.

An Ontario native, Sheila Dietrich received her Bachelor of Music Performance and Opera Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with Victor Martens.

Renowned for her "round, satiny" voice, her musical intelligence and her refined interpretations, soprano Marie Magistry occupies a place of choice on the Canadian music scene. Her activities have led her to sing on the world's greatest stages and at numerous international festivals. Co-founder and artistic director of the vocal ensemble Meslanges, she initiates inspiring and varied solo and chamber music projects that have led her to participate in a variety of renowned series and festivals.

Her timbre, which lends itself to a varied repertoire, is particularly appreciated in early music. A renowned and experienced chamber musician, she is regularly called upon to collaborate with renowned ensembles such as the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Caprice, les Boréades, les Idées heureuses, Clavecin en Concert, la Nef, l'Harmonie des saisons, I Musici de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec.

In addition to numerous radio recordings, Marie Magistry has recorded award-winning CDs for ATMA, Naxos, Analekta, Sony and Deutsche Grammophon. She has been part of numerous productions that have won Opus awards from the Conseil québécois de la musique. A graduate of McGill University and supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts and Musicaction, Marie Magistry recorded a solo disc of French Baroque music with ATMA classique in 2020, entitled La Bergère.

Quebec mezzo-soprano Marie-Andrée Mathieu delights audiences with her agile voice and great musical expressiveness. Named Jeune espoir lyrique québécois by the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, she has been invited to sing in Germany, China, Slovakia and Italy. She also won first prize in the Concours d'art lyrique de la Relève musicale de Québec.

Her operatic roles include Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, Cherubino in Les noces de Figaro, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Isolier in Le Comte Ory, Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Orphée in Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.

Guest solo engagements include Handel's Messiah with Symphony Nova Scotia and the Orchestre classique de Montréal, Beethoven's Mass in C major with the Slovak State Philharmonic and several Bach cantatas with Arion Orchestre Baroque, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal and the Orchestre Métropolitain. Her recital appearances include the 40th Festival de Lanaudière, Musique de chambre à Sainte-Pétronille and the Société d'art vocal de Montréal.

A native of Quebec City, Marie-Andrée Mathieu holds a master's degree in performance from Université Laval, graduating with honors. Also trained in piano and guitar, she is a versatile musician. Since her stage debut, she has performed a wide variety of musical styles, including Brazilian music and chanson française.

Tenor Philippe Gagné is praised for his rich expressivity, refined musical sensitivity, rare vocal agility and the beauty of his timbre. Specializing in the Baroque repertoire, he has performed on many of the world's great stages and worked with a number of renowned ensembles, including Les Talens Lyriques, Tafelmusik, Les Violons du Roy, Les Voix humaines, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Masques, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Les Délices, Les Boréades, L'Harmonie des saisons, Ensemble Caprice, Le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Ex Tempore, La Bande Montréal Baroque, Clavecin en concert, Mannheimer Hofkapelle and Apotheosis Orchestra. He is recognized as an exceptional interpreter of the French Baroque repertoire, as well as the music of J.S. Bach, which accounts for more than half of his professional engagements. His achievements, his constant presence on the Baroque scene and his many past and future engagements testify to his quality within this community.

In the summer of 2023, Philippe Gagné was invited to the International Baroque Music Festival in Lamèque, New Brunswick, where he performed Magnificats by J.S. Bach and C.P.E. Bach with Ensemble Caprice. He was also invited by the Early Music Vancouver Summer Festival to sing the closing concert featuring cantatas by J.S. Bach with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. He also joined L'Harmonie des saisons for Monteverdi's Vespers.

In February 2023, Philippe Gagné travels to France at the invitation of Ensemble Masque to take part in the La Folle Journée de Nantes festival, where he performs a selection of French Baroque opera arias. In March 2023, he is invited by the Orchestre Métropolitain, under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to present a closing concert of the complete J.S. Bach cantatas at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' Bourgie Hall.

In September 2022, he joined the ensemble Clavecin en concert under the direction of Hervé Niquet to present a selection of Grands Motets by M.-A. Charpentier.

A native of Richmond in the Eastern Townships, tenor Joé Lampron-Dandonneau quickly made a name for himself during his university career. After completing a Bachelor's degree at the Université de Montréal and a Master's degree in vocal performance at the University of Victoria, he completed his vocal studies at McGill University. There, he obtained the Graduate Diploma in Vocal Performance in the class of soprano Dominique Labelle, and had the immense privilege of being a finalist in the prestigious 2019-2020 Wirth Vocal Arts Award.

Since completing her studies, Joé Lampron-Dandonneau has had the opportunity to work with numerous professional choirs, including La Chapelle de Québec, and continues to develop as a chamber music artist, while pursuing a career in cultural management.

Nathaniel Watson is a versatile artist who has performed successfully in a wide variety of musical styles. Highlights include Der Freischütz with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Colin Davis, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Kurt Masur, and in Carnegie Hall with Sir Roger Norrington in the conductor’s debut concert in New York. He appeared in the title role in the Boston Early Music Festival production of Cavalli’s Ercole amante in Boston, at Tanglewood, and at the Utrecht Festival in Holland, and was featured in the Salzburg Festival production of Weill’s Mahagonny. He has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Tokyo, Seattle, Santiago (Chile), Montréal, Québec, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Recent seasons have included performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Philharmonia Baroque, Messiah with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Mendelssohn’s Paulus and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Handel’s Semele with Pacific Opera Victoria. Performances of Messiah with Tafelmusik in 2015 marked his 21st collaboration with the great Toronto ensemble.

Nathaniel Watson is a graduate of the Eastman School and Yale School of Music. He was a member of the Waverly Consort in for three years while living in New York City, where he also sang often with such groups as the New York Philharmonic, the St. Thomas Choir, Opera Ensemble of New York, and Orchestra of St. Luke's. He moved to Montreal in 1994, and has performed with most of the major orchestras and early music ensembles in North America, as well as several opera companies, having sung some 35 roles, including Papageno at the Carmel Bach Festival, the Speaker (also Magic Flute) in Calgary, Count Almaviva in Marriage of Figaro with Opera Atelier (Toronto), Eugene Onegin at the Banff Festival, and Sid in Albert Herring at Britten’s own Aldeburgh Festival.

Created in 1985 by founding conductor and music director Bernard Labadie, La Chapelle de Québec is one of North America’s premiere voice ensembles. The group is made up exclusively of professional singers who are hand picked from all over Canada. This unique chamber choir specializes in the choral/orchestral repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. The choir performs regularly with its other half, chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy, and as a guest choir with some of the finest orchestras in North America. Its  interpretations of the oratorios, requiems, masses, and cantatas of Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Haydn, as well as Fauré and Duruflé, are frequently hailed in the Canadian and international press.

La Chapelle de Québec is heard regularly at Palais Montcalm in Quebec City and Maison symphonique in Montreal, as well as at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, at Carnegie Hall with Les Violons du Roy and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and in Ottawa with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. The choir’s concerts are often broadcast by the CBC and Radio-Canada in Canada and by National Public Radio in the United States.

La Chapelle de Québec is also known for its role in Chemin de Noël, an annual event that brings music lovers from throughout the Québec City region together every December.