new to Brott,Verdis La battaglia di Legnano and Donizettis Anna Bolena, which opened the 2011 season.

Trieste had originally programmed Wagners Siegfried with Brott conducting, though cuts in government funding put paid to that in favor of La battaglia, an opera he reprised in Fall 2012 at the Verdi Festival in the Teatro Regia di Parma. Last summer, Brott split his time between conducting concerts at his festival in Hamilton and making his score and festival debut in four performances of Rigoletto at the Festival Pucciniano in Torre del Lago. In the ofng for next summer is a Carmen at the Teatro Greco at Taormina, Sicily.
Forging a career requires more than a beautiful

After working in these various Italian houses, Brott says hes found few of the much-reported quirks, but always experienced a relatively peaceful and positive atmosphere. His Italian orchestras, he says, bring a tremendous amount of musical enthusiasm and tradition to their work and play with an amazing kind of visceral energy he nds missing in North American orchestras. Maybe that Italian energy is rubbing off, since Brott shows no signs of slowing up. His next opera encounter is in March, when his McGill Chamber Orchestra teams with Opera McGill for Bellinis I Capuleti e i Montecchi in concert. Leonard Turnevicius at a small private school. Listening to albums of Cecilia Bartoli, Rene Fleming and Olga Borodina on loan from her teacher, Chaieb was hooked. I just started crying and didnt know why. I had never listened to opera. I had no understanding of how it could hurt and be so beautiful. I knew I had to express myself in that medium. She continued her education at McGill University with, at her parents insistence, a double major in music and math until she nally decided she had to focus on music. She credits the university for exposing her to the right degree of competition, but was nevertheless blown away when she successfully auditioned for the COC.I thought I was nobody. But when you have people who believe in you, then eventually you believe in you, too. Chaiebs intensity onstage reects As Cherubino a desire to dig as deeply as possible in Merolas Le into every character. Her very rst nozze di Figaro role, in a school production at Cgep de Saint-Laurent, was that of Baba in Menottis The Mediumnot the most obvious in either voice quality (Chaieb is a lyric rather than a dramatic mezzo) or thespian scope. I learned a lot about being onstage, and, of course, about portraying madness. But it actually set a nice bar. I approach characters not just from a vocal, but also from a very emotional point of view. At present, she is building her Mozart repertoire and learning the role of Dorabella, which she has found to be great fun: There is so much to discover emotionally, vocally and psychologically. Meanwhile, Chaiebs travels in Europe have helped her develop a healthy sense of life on the road. It can be lonely and hard to focus on your work, she says, explaining that she had to forego a night of karaoke the night before in order to speak with family members and her boyfriend. I wish I had one place to dump all of my stuff and call home. But I know this is the path I have to take right now, and Im enjoying it actually. Rebecca Schmid
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voice, but its clear that Rihab Chaieb has all the right attributes. Representing Canada at the Neue Stimmen International Competition last October, the 26-year-old mezzo delivered a erce performance of Depuis hier from Gounods Romo et Juliette, projecting the feisty rebellion of Stephano with her clear but lush timbre. Chaieb was one of 19 singers chosen to participate in the penultimate round and one of only 42 own to Germany. Although she didnt make it to the last round, Chaieb soaked up every opportunity to expand her professional horizons. It has been a constant master class, she says.Competitions are not only about winning prizes, but also meeting people. Even if you dont go through nals, its always good to sing for a panel like this and get their feedback. A recent graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio and performer with San Franciscos Merola Opera Program, Chaieb ew straight from the competition to auditions in Paris and London. Her next engagement wasnt until January, singing in Opera Hamiltons annual gala, after which she returns to the COC in April to sing Garcias and cover Dulcine in Massenets Don Quichotte. She is also continuing to take lessons with her teacher, Wendy Nielsen, and learn new roles. Chaieb admits how crucial the transition into full professional life is proving. For years, we have been told how to dress, what to sing, what not to sing, she says. Eventually, we become a product of everything that weve learned. Then you have to decide what kind of person and artist you are going to be. Her ascent into opera hardly conforms to the norm. She describes her family, which immigrated to Montreal when she was two years old, as non-musicalat least there were no classical albums playing at home. After forming a heavy metal band during high school in Montreal, she decided to try voice lessons

Rihab Chaieb

PHOTO: KRISTEN LOKEN

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