Giuseppe Grazioli has earned degrees in piano and composition and has also studied orchestral conducting with some of the grand masters: Gianluigi Gelmetti, Leopold Hager, Franco Ferrara, Peter Maag and Leonard Bernstein. This has led him to conduct some of the major Italian orchestras. In 2001, he conducted the last concert at La Scala before it was closed for restoration. He also conducted the final concert of the Operalia Competition at the Théâtre du Châtelet. On that occasion, Plácido Domingo invited him to Washington to conduct Lucia di Lammermoor. He is just as comfortable in the classic repertoire as he is in contemporary music, he conducted the Italian creation of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio and Nicola Piovani's ballet Fellini, as well as the world première performance of Marco Tutino's Vita, in 2003, with the orchestra of La Scala di Milano. With a repertoire of more than 30 operas, he has conducted many works in France, Italy and Spain (Metz, Rennes, Avignon, Rouen, Tours, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Angers, Turin, Rome, Genoa, Milan, Bologne, and Seville). The public and international critics alike appreciate his recordings, including rare twentieth century works of De Falla, Auric, Martinu, Casella, Malipiero, Rieti, Lambert, Bax, Bartok (3 CD) and a number of Nino Rota's compositions. Future projects include Così fan tutte in Saint-Étienne, Macbeth in Rennes and Lorient in 2009; Il barbiere di Siviglia in Nantes and Angers in 2010; et Orfeo ed Euridice also in Nantes and Angers in 2011.

Creator, director, and educator with rigorous artistic standards, Robert Marien is an artistic director, production director, musical idea man and singer. His impressive curriculum vitae bears witness to his realizations in theatre and music over many years. He has participated in a number of musical productions including Napoléon beside Serge Lama; he held the role of Jean Valjean in les Misérables in Montréal, Paris, London and New York (Broadway), thereby earning international recognition; he was also Frolo in Notre-Dame-de-Paris and Don Carlos in Don Juan. He has also sung with large orchestras including the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in a “Broadway” concert, and he recently presented a Christmas series with the Sinfonia de Lanaudière. He can be heard on numerous CDs including Les Misérables-Paris, Broadway-Montréal and many more.
He staged the 25th anniversary concert of Starmania (in 2004) with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, which was revived in Paris, and later with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec at the Festival d’été de Québec (in 2005) and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (in 2007).
He is currently writing a musical comedy, le Petit Roy, an original story created from songs written by Jean-Pierre Ferland, based on an idea from Benoît L’Herbier, who is also a collaborator in the libretto, dialogues and musical arrangements. This work should be staged in 2010-2011.
As an actor in repertory and creative theatre, he has participated in some forty productions. The small screen introduced him to television audiences in the Lance et compte series (translated into English as He Shoots, He Scores), and he has played in a number of other television series.
An educator, he participated in the creation of schools specialized in musical theatre (the Option Théâtre Musical du Collège Lionel-Groulx, and the École Supérieure de Théâtre Musical) and he regularly conducts master classes for serious musical theatre students and professionals.
Robert Marien is also the sponsor of several socio-community activities such as the Fondation des pompiers de Québec pour les grands brûlés, for which he has been the spokesman for the past 16 years. He has also worked for a number of other similar organizations.
A member of the Ordre de la Pléiade, as Ambassadeur de la francophonie à l’étranger, he recently received the Medal of the National Assembly from Matthieu Traversy, Member for Terrebonne, for his contribution to the arts in the Lanaudière region.

Elena Xanthoudakis was graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, the University of Melbourne, the Guildhall School of Music of London and the Maggio Musicale of Florence. She has been awarded numerous prizes including the Grand Prize of the 2003 Maria-Callas International competition in Athens, the 2006 International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, the Grand Prize at the Adam Didur Opera Singers International Competition in Poland in 2008 and the Third Prize at Operalia 2008 in Québec. She made her stage debut in Australia in the roles of Pamina, Leila (Les Pêcheurs de perles) and Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress). She continues her career in Great Britain where she performs regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the English National Opera and the Scottish Opera. She has recently held the roles of Clorinda in la Cenerentola and Frasquita in Carmen at the  Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; and Adina in l’Elisir d’amore at the Victoria Opera (Australia); During the 2009 season, she will sing Blondchen in The Abduction from the Seraglio at Opera North and will again embody Adina for the Scottish Opera and the English National Opera. She has recorded Krista in The Makropulos Case with the English National Opera under the CHANDOS label. She impressed the Québec audience by her performance at the Gala de l'Opéra in December 2008. This will be her first interpretation of Lucia.

Having received his training at McGill University, and a member of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal from 2001 until 2004, Étienne Dupuis has interpreted Escamillo and El Dancaïro in Carmen while on tour with the Atelier Lyrique, and the Father in Hänsel et Gretel. At the Opéra de Montréal, he participated in productions of Madama Butterfly, Rigoletto (Marullo), Die Zauberflöte and la Bohème. In 2004-2005, still with the Opéra de Montréal, he sang the roles of the Mandarin (Turandot), El Dancaïro (Carmen) and Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas). His most recent productions include Lescaut (Manon Lescaut) at the New Israeli Opera, the Mandarin (Turandot) at Vancouver. He appeared twice in Québec during the 2005-2006 season, when he participated in the Gala de l'Opéra and returned in the role of El Dancaïro (Carmen). In Québec, he was Marcello (La Bohème) in October 2006 and at the Vancouver Opera, he was Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) in March 2007. He incarnated Johnny Rockfort in the symphonic version of Starmania during the Festival d'été de Québec, and during the world première of Starmania – Opéra, in Québec (May 2008). During the fall of 2007, he made his debut at the Opéra National de Paris in Capricci, then, in 2008, he held the role of Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Opéra de Marseille. He has performed in concert under the baton of Maestro Kent Nagano, embodied Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette at the Hawaii Opera and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte at the Opéra de Tours. In 2009, he will be Silvano in Un ballo in maschera at the Opéra de Paris, Silvio in I Pagliacci at the Opéra de Montréal, Lescaut in Manon in Calgary. He again sang the role of Johnny Rockfort in the Opéra de Montréal production of Starmania - opéra in March, and will represent Canada at the famous BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

Ever since he was chosen by Valery Giergiev for a production of La Traviata in St-Petersburg, Marc Hervieux's career has been in continual motion. He has held numerous lead tenor roles: Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Edgar (Lucia di Lammermoor), Romeo (Romeo et Juliette), Rodolfo (La Bohème), the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) and Chevalier des Grieux (Manon), Alfredo (La Traviata), Nemorino (L’Elisir d’amore), Cassio (Otello), Nadir (Les Pêcheurs de Perles), and Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). In 2005, he interpreted the role of the Businessman in Starmania (Concert version) with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra. This production was repeated at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, and again at the Festival international d'été de Québec; he opened as a remarkable Cavaradossi in Tosca in Victoria and London (Ontario), in Edmonton as Rodolpho in La Bohème and at the New Israëli Philharmonic as Alfredo in La Traviata under the baton of Zubin Mehta. In the spring of 2006, Marc Hervieux joined the Metropolitan Opera of New York and sang at the Richard Tucker Gala. More recently, he obtained a resounding success in the role of Luigi in Il Tabarro at the Opéra de Montréal and, here in Québec, as Rodolfo (La Bohème). In 2007, he participated in the world première of Estacio's Frobisher in Calgary, followed by the role of Roméo at the Opéra de Montréal and Cavadarossi (Tosco) in Calgary, while serving as understudy for the Cassio (Otello) at the Met. He created the role of the Businessman in the world première of Starmania – opéra here in Québec, in May 2008, and revived it at the Opéra de Montréal in March 2009.

Thomas MACLEAY, tenor (Arturo Bucklaw)

Thomas Macleay studied music and dramatic arts at the University of Alberta, McGill University, the CNIPAL in Marseilles (2004), the Banff Centre for the Arts (2002 and 2007) and the Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal (2005-2008). He recently made his debut in the role of Gennaro in Death at the Opera on the Bravo! Canada channel. He has performed the role of Acis in Acis and Galatea in Toronto. He has just made his Edmonton debut in Carmen. He has sung in numerous productions of the Opéra de Montréal, including Norma, Turn of the Screw, Il Tabarro, Lakmé and Il Mondo della Luna, and has sung the role of the young sailor in Tristan und Isolde with Kent Nagano and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He will soon be seen in the production of Iphigénie en Tauride at the Opera Atelier, la Traviata and Otello in Edmonton, and the Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill with the Alberta Ballet. He has earned scholarships from a number of organizations, and is currently perfecting his art in New York with Mignon Dunn with the help of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Born in the Ukraine, Alexander Savtchenko was graduated from the Conservatory of Kiev. He came to Canada in 1990. He won the Pavarotti International Voice Competition in 1992, and was the Artist in Residence at the Opéra de Montréal (1991-1992), and later, in Kiel, Germany (1999-2002). In 1997, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in Dvo?ák's Te Deum. During his career, he has sung at the Opéra de Montréal: the Sacristan, Tosco; Monterone, Rigoletto; Basilio, Il Barbiere de Siviglia and the High Priest, Nabucco; At the Opera Lyra Ottawa: Alidoro, la Cenerentola and, at the Canadian Opera Company: Angelotti, Tosco; Micha, The Bartered Bride. In October 2003, here in Québec, he sang the role of Timur in Turandot, a role that he had already interpreted at the Houston Grand Opera (1994) and in Portland (1996). Québec audiences again heard him in March 2004 as Dr. Dulcamara (Donizetti's l’Elisir d’amore), October 2004 as Count Horn in Un ballo in maschera, and in May 2007 as Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette. Alexander Savtchenko has also embodied Méphistophélès (Faust), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Colline (La Bohème), Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin), Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni) and Osmin (The abduction from the Seraglio).

Benoît Boutet is particularly attracted to the TWENTIETH century repertoire. He sang in Britten's The Prodigal Son in Guelph and London (Ontario); he held the title role in the world premiere of Somers' Mario and the Magician at the Canadian Opera Company; he was Toby in Sweeney Todd and the madman in Wozzeck (2006) in Calgary. The critics acclaimed his performances as Vanya Kudryas in Robert Carsen's production of Janá?ek's Katya Kabanova at the Canadian Opera Company and as Andres in Wozzeck, again at the COC. He also captured attention in the Egoyan/Sharman production of Elsewhereless in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, and in the premiere of Barry Truax's The Power of Two in Vancouver for the Modern Baroque Opera Company. Outside of Canada, he is also active in the contemporary and classical opera repertoires such as Die Fledermaus, Boris Godunov, Salomé, Fidelio, Falstaff, Les Pêcheurs de perles, The Merry Widow and Hamlet. He created the role of Simao Rodrigues in Rosa's Melodias Esthanhas in Rotterdam, and again in Porto, Portugal. He has participated in a number of oratorios, and has recorded The Tales of Hoffman (Nathaniel) for Erato, Jocaste (Polynice) pour MFA and Roberto Devereux (Lord Cecil) for the Nightingale label. At the Opéra de Québec, he was Wilhelm in Mignon in 1994, Nathaniel in The Tales of Hoffmann in 2005, Goro in Madama Butterfly in 2006 and Roderigo in Otello in October 2007.

Geneviève Lévesque, a native of Kamouraska, is currently preparing her doctorate at McGill university under the guidance of Stefano Algieri. She has been awarded a McGill Graduate Studies Fellowship, an AIMS Scholarship (Austria), and an Austrian Society Scholarship and has earned grants from the Fonds québecois de la recherché sur la société et la culture (FQRSC), and the Canada Council for the Arts. She has participated in numerous high-level training programs including Toronto’s Summer Opera Lyric Theatre (SOLT), the Atelier Lyrique du Centre d’Arts d’Orford and the AIMS Opera Studio. In 2005, she won the Canada Music Competition, and, in June 2008, she was a semi-finalist in the Canada Music Competition’s Stepping Stone. During her stay in Austria, she was a finalist in the Meistersinger Competition, and had the opportunity to sing under the baton of two renowned conductors: Alexander Kalajdzic and Eduardo Müller. During the past two years, she has worked with Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin and in February 2009, they performed Mahler’s Song of the Earth. Québec audiences were able to appreciate her rendition of Lola in Cavaleria rusticana in May, 2009.