The Mississauga Festival Choir and soloists Cristina Pisani (soprano), Deanna Pauletto (mezzo-soprano), Paul Williamson (tenor), and Johnathon Kirby (baritone) will join the orchestra for Verdi Requiem – A Tribute to Hazel McCallion.
Regularly priced tickets start at $40. Special pricing is available for seniors, families, youth (15-26), and groups of 10 or more. FREE underground parking is included with every ticket purchase. Click HERE to purchase tickets.
Mississauga Festival Choir
With over 150 singers, the Mississauga Festival Choir is the largest and most spirited community choir in Mississauga. The MFC first came together in 1984 to celebrate Mississauga’s 10th anniversary, and they stayed together to celebrate the joy of singing in a choral community like no other. Under the leadership of David Ambrose, the MFC performs many concerts, raises money for local charities, records professional CDs, holds an annual choral competition, and tours the world.
Cristina Pisani, soprano
Cristina Pisani is a vibrant soprano who enjoys a multifaceted career on both the operatic and concert stage. She is thrilled to perform the beautiful music of Verdi with the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra once again in her beloved hometown. Cristina’s previous MSO appearances include The Best of MSO Opera (2022) and her company debut as Violetta Valéry in Verdi’s La traviata (2020). Last summer, she made her debut as the feisty Frasquita in Julie Nesrallah’s production of Carmen Under the Stars (Honens). She looks forward to a festive holiday season as a feature soloist in concerts with Arcady and Canadian Orpheus Male Choir. Other credits include roles in operas by Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Bizet, Verdi, Wagner, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Strauss, Britten, and Beckett. Cristina began her musical training at the age of three and completed her MMus at Western University. In the few hours she is away from music, Cristina loves to stream on Twitch, dabble in makeup, and spend time with her family, friends, and pets.
Deanna Pauletto, mezzo-soprano
Hailed by the Chautauqua Daily as a “fine mezzo-soprano” and a “natural actress”, Deanna Pauletto has performed on many of the important operatic stages in the world including debuts with Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt, Germany) and Carnegie Hall (New York City).
Deanna has received vocal training from some of the most important musical figures of our generation including; Marilyn Horne, Carol Burnett, Stephanie Blythe and Warren Jones. Ms. Pauletto received her Bachelor of Music specializing in vocal jazz at York University, followed by an artist diploma in traditional Opera at the Milano Conservatorio in Milan, Italy.
Along with a thriving performance career, she is also the in-house voice teacher at Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts. Ms. Pauletto has been sought out to conduct masterclasses and workshops for numerous elementary schools and high schools within the Greater Toronto Area.
Paul Williamson, tenor
Jamaican-born Canadian spinto tenor Paul Williamson has appeared with Opera York (Toronto), singing Manrico in Verdi’s Il Trovatore in November 2013, and Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in November 2014. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall as tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the New York Festival Orchestra in December 2013 and again appeared at Carnegie Hall in March 2014 as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia. In March 2017, he appeared as Beppe in an independently staged production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. In May 2017, he appeared as the Scrivener in Khovanshchina by Mussorsky with Opera In Concert, and in March 2018, he debuted at the Southern Ontario Lyric Opera (SOLO) as Rinuccio in their production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Paul recently performed the role of Aegisthe in the Strauß opera Elektra with Powerhouse Opera, a small independent opera company in Toronto, in March 2022.
In August, 2022, Paul played the role of Charles Thompson, in the opera, The Bells of Baddeck, by Dean Burry, and libretto by Lorna MacDonald. In February 2023, Paul played the role of Monsieur in the opera La Flambeau, by David Bontemps, and in March, the role of Yaakaar in the opera Of the Sea, by Ian Cusson, a collaborative production by Tapestry Opera and Obsidian Theatre. In May, 202, he reprised his role of Ferrando in Opera Nova Scotia’s production on Così Fan Tutte, directed by the (now) late Dr. Walter Kemp.
In April, 2023, Paul performed as tenor soloist with the North Carolina Master Chorale and the NC Symphony Orchestra in the Requiem Mass by Verdi.
Jonathon Kirby, baritone
Johnathon Kirby has built a reputation for having a “virility in his sound, and exhaustive energy in his movements” (Schmopera). Kirby hails from Newmarket Ontario and is an alumnus of Dalhousie University and completed two years in the Calgary Opera Emerging Artist program. He made his professional debut with Opera Nova Scotia, returning for nine seasons as a featured lead, and has performed with opera companies across Canada. He has featured in numerous concerts and recitals including many Messiahs with companies across Canada and Haydn’s The Creation as Raphael and Adam with The Festival Chorus in Calgary and as a featured soloist in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart Experience. With Calgary Opera, Kirby has performed such roles as Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Angelotti in Tosca and Don Alphonso in Così fan tutte. In 2018 Kirby received critical acclaim and a Dora Nomination for best performance of an individual, for his performance of Figaro in Opera Five’s production of The Barber of Seville. Look for him in several Messiah concerts during the holiday season and playing the roles of Dancaire and Morales in Bizet’s Carmen which will mark his fifth engagement with Manitoba Opera.
