Jean Stilwell

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Marcia Jean Stilwell (born August 14, 1955 in Toronto ) is a Canadian singer (mezzo-soprano).

Live and act

The daughter of the singer Margaret Stilwell studied singing at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto with William Perry from 1973 and later took private lessons with Patricia Kern . In 1981, 1982 and 1985 she attended master classes at the Banff Center of the Arts . After appearing as a student in groups such as the Festival Singers and the Tapestry Singers , she took part in performances of operas by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Stratford Festival between 1982 and 1984 , where she learned stage technology from Brian Macdonald . Her first major solo aria was the Fairy Queen in Gilbert and Sullivan's opera Iolanthe , which she sang in 1984 alternating with Maureen Forrester .

This was followed by appearances as Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin at the Vancouver Opera (1985), as Carmen in Lucian Pintilie's production of the Bizet opera of the same name in 1986, as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly (1987), Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus (1988), Dryade in Ariadne on Naxos (1989) and Maddalena in Rigoletto (1989). She made her debut with the Canadian Opera Company in 1989 as Bersi in Andrea Chénier , followed by Anina in Der Rosenkavalier (1990) and Annio in La Clemenza di Tito (1991). In the USA she first appeared in 1987 at the Indiana Opera as Princess Marghanza in John Philip Sousa's El Capitan . In 1990 she made her European debut with the Welsh National Opera as Dorabella in Così fan tutte .

Stilwell has performed as a concert singer with Brahms ' Alt-Rhapsodie, Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony , R. Murray Schafers Adieu, Robert Schumann , Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria (at the New York Mostly Mozart Festival 1989 under Trevor Pinnock ). She sang radio and CD recordings of works by Luciano Berio , Kurt Weill , Francis Poulencs , Harry Somers and Louis Spohr , gave concerts for the Vancouver Opera Club and recorded a CD entitled Carmen Unplugged with pianist Patti Loach , with the she has appeared in joint show programs since 2005.

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personal data
SURNAME Stilwell, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Szilwell, Marcia Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian singer
DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Toronto