Province/Territory: British Columbia
City: Nanaimo, BC
Role(s) in this year's festival:
Valletto/1st friend of Seneca: "Coronation of Poppea"
Dancer/Ensemble: "Tuck Everlasting"
In addition to studying the music and plot of Coronation of Poppea, I am preparing for NUOVA's program by becoming familiar with Monteverdi's style of music in general. I have been preparing numerous baroque arias throughout this school year and have discovered that it's a style I really enjoy singing and will continue to work on in the future!
As a young singer who's had most of their formal education interrupted by the Global pandemic, I feel opera NUOVA's program will allow me to regain some of the performance opportunities and confidence that I've lost. I am excited to attend Opera NUOVA because it seems like the perfect place for me to gain performance experience and finally work with other artists in the field. Moreover, NUOVA's program will allow me to develop the skills necessary for this artistic profession while also allowing room for error and growth, considering I am still in an early stage of my post-secondary education.
Artist Bio
Sarah Luedke is a second-year undergraduate student in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, where she is completing her Bachelors of Vocal Performance under the guidance of Elizabeth McDonald. Sarah is a developing mezzo-soprano and has extensive training in both classical and musical theatre repertoire. At the Faculty of Music, she participated in the "Tuesday Noon Hour" concert series. She was also awarded first place in the first-year undergraduate class at NATS Ontario Vocal Showcase in 2020. Moreover, Sarah has been a member of UofT's MacMillan Singers and Soprano/Alto Chorus. Originally from Nanaimo, BC, Sarah attended the University of British Columbia's Summer Vocal Workshop throughout high school, where she worked on art song and character interpretation with industry professionals. At UBC, Sarah was given the opportunity to perform in opera scene stagings of Cosi fan tutte and Hansel and Gretel. She sang Dorabella's role in "Il core vi dono" by Mozart and the part of Gretel in Humperdinck's "Evening Prayer." In 2017 Sarah performed the title role in the Bay Theatrix production of Mary Poppins and successfully participated in the British Columbia Performing Arts Festival for several years. Sarah also has extensive training in numerous dance forms, such as ballet, modern, jazz, and contemporary. Over several summers, she extended her dance education by training with the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Arts Umbrella, and Mosaic Dance. She has also performed with Nanaimo's Bohemia Ballet in a collaborative presentation with the Nanaimo Symphony and Alberta Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.
