Ask Canadian cultural figures about Maureen Forrester and the response is uniform: the opera singer was blessed with a gorgeous voice and a warm personality, and she did a lot for her home country. Heppner, who is hosting the event, performed with Forrester in 1983 in a Canadian Opera Company production of Strauss’s Elektra. Though she could sing mezzo soprano roles, Forrester’s vocal prowess made itself best known in works by Mahler, his Symphony No. The British-born Canadian singer says Forrester had a certain quality that was especially suited to the Austrian composer’s work. Harry Somers’ Five Songs for Dark Voice was commissioned specifically for Forrester by the Stratford Festival, where she premiered it in August 1956.

Source: thestar October 18, 2017 16:52 UTC