“Stunning low notes and impressive sound…" (Paula Citron 96.3fm/TMC&TSO Elijah ‘09) Mezzo Soprano Marcia Whitehead, a former apprentice of Montreal Opera, continues to dazzle audiences with her dark, elegant voice, her fine musicianship and stellar comedic timing.
 
Ms. Whitehead’s commanding stage presence and intuitive dramatic prowess has established her as a strong, singing actress. Her most notable portrayals include the title role in CARMEN; DORABELLA in Cosi fan tuttè; FLORA in La Traviata; LA MARQUISE in La Fille du Régiment; ALISA in Lucia di Lammermoore; L’ENFANT in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges; HÄNSEL in Hänsel und Gretel; AMAHL in Amahl and the Night Visitors; LAURA in Iolantha; and LOLA in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Windsor Symphony and Manitoba Opera: “Excellent casting, a company hallmark …Ms. Whitehead’s crimson Lola …” - Opera Canada. Her talents have been showcased in exciting, new operatic works, including the debut of JEANNE D'ARC in Electric Flesh with the National Opera of Lyon and Autumn Leaf Performances, and as the sassy and persistent reporter, CIXOUS, in the Toronto Harbourfront Centre’s production of Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path, a jazz-inspired opera by George Elliot Clarke and D.D. Jackson.

On the concert stage, Ms. Whitehead’s varied solo repertoire has included Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Bach’s Magnificat. Her comedic abilities have been a perfect fit for the cabaret favorites of Weill, Schoenberg, and Bolcom in her self produced, one woman show “Single in the City”. Her background in extended vocal technique intensified her portrayal as THE SIREN in Garreth Farr’s North American debut of Paygan Prayer for Contact Contemporary Music. Film credits include BRAVO channel videos celebrating the works of Georger Gershwin, and national commercials and print ads.

Marcia has performed with a number of charismatic conductors including: Yannick Nézet Séguin, l’Orchestre Metropolitan de Montréal – Festival de Lanaudière; Jacques Lacombe and Eduardo Muller, l’Opera de Montréal; Ivars Taurins, Tafelmusik; Tyrone Patterson, Manitoba Opera; Bramwell Tovey and Henry Engbrecht, Winnipeg Symphony; Stéphane La Forest, l’Orchestre de Sherbrooke; and Noel Edison, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Symphony.

Ms. Whitehead’s studies have pushed the boundaries at the Banff Centre’s 20th Century Dramatic integration and Song fellowship program. Her entrepreneurial spirit developed her successful cabaret “Single in the City".

Upcoming engagements include: The music of James Bond &
other Spies and Rogues with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony as your favorite Bond girl, as well as her new, One Woman Musical Comedy (title TBA) commissioned by Opera NUOVA (Edmonton) for April 2010.

Download