Province/Territory: Alberta
City: Pincher Creek
Role(s) in this year's festival:
Poppea: "Coronation of Poppea" (Monteverdi)
Previous NUOVA Roles:
2020/2021- Mary Warren/ Abigail Williams: "The Crucible" (Covid Cancelled)
2019- 10 Day Intensive Program
I am enjoying working through the music of Poppea, learning the melody, and focusing on Monteverdi’s specific style of writing. As I plunk through the piano part I love hearing Poppea intertwine with different characters and am excited to hear others singers upon arrival. As always, I am looking into the history of Poppea and trying to base a character off of her historical presence and her feelings within the music. I am also very thankful to have the direction of my professor Jackie Short and coach Paul Digout to guide me through this role.
My first experience at Nuova during the 10 day program allowed me to gain amazing lasting friendships between musical colleges, and inspired me to further my technical training and acting ability. I am excited to return to NUOVA because I have never learned so much about music, my body, my voice, and myself, in such a short period of time. I chose to return because of the amazing instructors and the intentional safe space provided by the faculty. This space allowed me to explore new frames of mind and try new techniques supported by surrounding colleagues and professors. From experience, I know that the program is wonderful and will push my acting boundaries, vocal technique, and allow me to become better equip for future auditions. I truly missed performing, growing, and working at NUOVA the past few years, but that has only made my desire to attend and perform grow stronger. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that is what a summer without NUOVA did for me! I know that with the instruction of this program I can grow and become one step closer to my dreams. I also hope to use NUOVA as a sague into my professional career after completion of my masters.
Artist Bio
Alexandra Morgan, Soprano, grew up in a small town nestled within the beautiful Alberta Rocky Mountains. She holds a Bachelors of Music in Opera Performance from the University of Lethbridge, and is currently pursing her Masters of Opera and Literature at the University of Western Ontario. Ms. Morgan has been a recipient of multiple grants and scholarships including the London Opera Guild Scholarship, Ben Heppner Music Performance Award, Agnes Turcotte Memorial Scholarship, Intermezzo Classical Voice Award, and most recently, the Deon Erasmus professional scholarship after receiving first place in Musical Theatre Performance at the Alberta Provincial Music Festival. Known for her lively characterization and rich operatic tone, Alexandra has performed the role of Pomonia in Zehn Mädchen und kein Mann (Franz von Suppé), Cendrillon in Cendrillon (Pauline Viardot), Paquette in Candide (Leonard Bernstein) with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, Casilda in the Gondoliers (Gilbert and Sullivan with LSO), and most recently Morgana in Western University’s production of Alcina (Handel). A well rounded artist, her experience spans a variety of styles including Opera, Musical Theatre, Choral, Pop, and Folk. This summer Alexandra is a participant in the NUOVA six-week Operatic Emerging Artists Program and excited to perform the title role of Poppea in the Coronation of Poppea (Monteverdi)!
