Marie-Josée Lord

In 2005, Marie-Josée Lord was the recipient of the Prix d’Excellence de la Culture, awarded by the Fondation de l’Opéra de Québec, and was selected to represent Canada at the Cardiff Singer of World competition. She won the Public Prize at the Canadian Lyric Fund Competition, and received the Raoul-Jobin Prize in 1998. Her first solo CD, which was recorded with the Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Giuseppe Pietraroia, won Marie-Josée Lord a Félix in the category Album of the year — classical vocal in 2011. Released on the ATMA Classique label in November 2010, it has been a great success, with over 25,000 copies sold to date.

Marie-Josée Lord made her professional debut in the Fall of 2003, singing Liù in Puccini’s Turandot at Opéra de Québec. Immediately after this, she flew to Rennes to sing the role of Julia in Passionnément (André Messager). In 2004, Montreal music lovers too were enraptured by her rendition of Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème at Opéra de Montréal, where she also sang Laoula in Chabrier’s l’Étoile in 2005. Previously, Marie-Josée Lord held numerous roles, such as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte (in a Canadian tour with the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal), the title role of Turandot (Busoni) and Dido in Dido and Aeneas (Purcell), with the Atelier Lyrique du Conservatoire de Musique de Québec. Marie-Josée Lord has also been heard as Susanna in Il segreto di Susanna (Wolf-Ferrari).

In September 2006, Marie-Josée Lord sang the title role in Suor Angelica (Puccini) in the Opéra de Montréal’s season opening production. Recently she has been heard as Marie-Jeanne in the world premiere of the operatic version of the celebrated musical Starmania (Plamondon/ Berger) at Opéra de Québec in May 2008 and Opéra de Montréal in March 2009. In the early Fall of 2009, she brilliantly held the role of Nedda (I Paggliacci) at Opéra de Montréal. In spring 2012, Marie-Josée Lord will be heard singing the role of Meg Page in Falstaff (Verdi) at the Opéra de Québec.

With her irresistible charisma, generosity, and passion for lyric art, Marie-Josée Lord is a favorite guest on several television and radio shows (Tout le monde en parle, Studio 12, En direct de l’Univers, etc.).

The soprano has sung with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra on several occasions: at the Christmas concert at the Notre-Dame Basilica in December 2009; at the Starmania concert at Notre-Dame de Paris in February, 2010; and at the free outdoor concert for Haiti that the orchestra gave on September 2, 2010 at the beginning of its 2010-2011 season.

What the media says…

“A successful wedding (Concert of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano). The highlight of the evening was… Le monde est stone by Marie-Josée Lord. The finest moment of all, where osmosis between singer and orchestra was perfect, and a peak of emotion that the soprano (Marie-Josée Lord), very elegant in her long red gown, transformed into pure artistry.” — Alain de Repentigny, La Presse, Tuesday, February 2, 2010

“Lord delivered a dramatic and thoughtful reading of “Piangerò la sorte mia” that brought tears to my eyes.” — James Young, Early Music Review, July 2010

> her website