Jocelyn Molnar

July 17, 2016

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Jocelyn Molnar

Soprano

Cranbrook, B.C.

Prima Sorella Ceratrice in Suor Angelica

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Most of Jocelyn Molnar’s family members can’t make it through “Happy Birthday” in one key, yet Molnar has no problems belting it out as Prima Sorella Ceratrice in the Halifax Summer Opera Festival’s production of Suor Angelica.

At the University of British Columbia summer music camp, Molnar was exposed to bel canto singing, and fell in love with opera. She now studies music at the University of Western Ontario.

“Staging an opera is very different than performing in concert, and I think watching my peers being directed and coached will be very enlightening for my own understanding of stagecraft,” Molnar said of HSOF.

Women in opera inspire Molnar. She admires sopranos Natalie Dessay and Diana Damrau for their diction and ability to transition seamlessly from heartbreaking to hilarious.

Molnar already has a list of funny women she has played and wants to play: Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Norina (Don Pasquale), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Papagena (Die Die Zauberflöte) and Marie (La fille du régiment).

“I’ve had chances so perform some of their scenes and arias, and I love how much room there is to be dynamic and memorable in comedic roles,” she said.

Sexist themes are apparent in some operas, but Molnar thinks that we ought to learn from these sorts of operas.

“I think putting emphasis on the prejudiced aspects of a work adds to the story and struggle of the characters,” she said. “When a director finds ways to draw strong connections and bring opera plots into contemporary times, such as changing the setting to highlight people or cultures that are being mistreated and discriminated against right now, they remind us that these are still active problems.”

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