Praised for her musicality and dramatic presence, emerging Canadian soprano Allison Ward has delighted audiences both at home and abroad. Allison was accepted at L’École Normale de Musique de Paris where she studied with Mme. Alcantara before relocating to Leipzig, Germany to delve into the works of Richard Wagner and pursue studies with Prof. Regina Werner-Dietrich. Allison met Mme. Alcantara at the Nei Stëmmen OperaLab in Luxembourg in September 2012, where she was the top vocalist in their international competition, and made her European debut as La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro. Earlier in the summer of 2012, she also performed Erste Dame (First Lady) in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and La Contessa (Countess) in Vancouver, Canada. 

 

Ms. Ward completed her Artist Diploma at the Vancouver Academy of Music, studying with David Meek, where she explored Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, Elizabetta in Don Carlo, Mimi in La bohème, and the Marschallin from Der Rosenkavalier, amongst other roles. She also “convincingly sung” the role of Nerone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea, a part where she “dominated the action, and exhibited the moral bankruptcy and power of the emperor in decadent imperial Rome” (Opera Canada). With a BFA in Theatre from the University of Victoria and considerable stage experience, she has a thoroughly well rounded approach to opera. Her professional debut took place with Pacific Opera Victoria as Madrigal Singer in Manon Lescaut, and Cretan Woman in Mozart’s Idomeneo.

 

Allison has earned a Professional Development Grant from the B.C. Arts Council, and was the recipient of both the Career Development Grant and the Young Talent in Opera Grant, from the Vancouver Opera Guild. She also garnered an IODE Scholarship and second prize in the Kay Meek Scholarship Competition in Vancouver. She has performed under the baton of Mario Bernardi, Umberto Finazzi, Timothy Vernon, Giuseppe Pietraroia, Leslie Dala and Rosemary Thompson. A member of Pacific Opera Victoria’s chorus for 7 seasons, she has sung multiple comprimaria roles, most recently Siren/Furie in Handel's Rinaldo, Ilka in Countess Maritza and Novice Nun in Suor Angelica. She is also involved in the companies’ community engagement program, Opera Etc., where you can find her bringing opera to the people at the Oak Bay Tea Party, Car Free Day YYJ, retirement homes, and for the volunteers at HeroWork. 

 

After completing her studies in Leipzig, Germany with Regina Werner-Dietrich, a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theatre Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Allison is again living and performing in Canada.