Ariel Lefebvre
Baritone
Barmont, QC
Garibaldo in Rodelinda
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]Ariel Lefebvre fell in love with classical repertoire after his high school music teacher introduced him to Schubert. Lefebvre couldn’t get enough of Schubert’s “Erlköning,” which describes a child’s death.
“Erlköning can easily leave a strong impression on an angsty teenager,” Lefebvre said.
Ten years after first hearing Schubert, Lefebvre completed his Masters in Opera/Voice Performance at McGill University.
Though he calls himself a music kid (to this day, he still loves John William’s soundtrack to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back), he also loves the stage. His involvement in high school productions allowed him to discover that he was a daring actor
This summer, at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Lefebvre will play Garibaldo in Handel’s Rodelinda. This role combines Lefebvre’s love of acting and singing because Garibaldo pretends to be a loyal counsellor to the new king of Milan, but secretly plans to steal the throne for himself. Not only does Garibaldo sing several beautiful, bass arias, but he also requires an actor who can act caring one scene, yet cutthroat the next.
His inspiration for his baritone voice is the French tenor Georges Thill. Lefebvre finds his singing technique to be flawless, and thus an amazing model for younger singers.
Yet Lefebvre’s love of music extends beyond his own voice. Since he began singing classical repertoire, he has loved the Queen of the Night’s aria because of its vocal acrobatics, as well as Tosca’s final lines before her death (which he once unsuccessfully attempted to sing).
“Most of my favourite singers have been dead for a long time since they belong to a bygone generation of singers from the first half of the 20th century,” he added.
By looking back at opera, Lefebvre believes we can improve opera’s reception today. In the 18th century, opera was a social event; now, it’s perceived as stuffy, with no food or drink allowed in opera theatres.
“For the last couple decades musicians have been trying to give historically accurate performances,” he said. “Why not try historically accurate audiences?”
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”off” icon_color=”#94b594″ use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#94b594″ use_circle_border=”off” circle_border_color=”#94b594″ icon_placement=”top” animation=”top” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_text_color=”#ffffff” body_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”#0c71c3″ use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#0c71c3″ border_style=”solid” custom_padding=”3px|3px|3px|3px”]Education
Bachelor and Masters of Vocal Performance, McGill University
Past Performances
Buoso’s Ghost 2015
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