By Glenn Hicks

P.A. soprano aims for national opera heights

Oct 28, 2018 | 8:00 AM

An up and coming opera talent from Prince Albert is hoping her second shot at a national competition will propel her to the next level.

Andrea Lett, 27, who is currently based in Winnipeg, is among eight finalists from a total of 120 entries who are trying to make their voices rise above the rest at the Canadian Opera Company’s (COC) Ensemble Studio Competition in Toronto Nov.1.

The young artist who wins will collect a $5,000 prize, a professional studio session, and a slot in a prestigious Ontario song festival next summer.

Lett, a soprano, made it to the finals in 2016 and told paNOW she’s learned a lot since then.

“That experience helped me and made me stronger, and I took some of the feedback that I’d gotten two years ago and I’ve been working really hard ever since,” Lett said. “I’m still singing, people continue to hire me, and I hope I’ve grown and taken those critiques and corrections [from the judges] seriously.”

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Lett could never have imagined she’d be in this situation after graduating from Carlton Comprehensive, even though she made appearances on stage in various productions in Prince Albert between Grades 6 and 12.

“It wasn’t on my radar; I didn’t know much about opera at all when I started off and I’d never been to one,” she said. But now her resume includes work with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (Mozart Requiem), and Manitoba Opera (Zerlina in Don Giovanni), as well as returning to Saskatoon Opera for the role of Musetta in their Mainstage production of La Bohème this summer. She was also part of the San Francisco Opera recently.

After high school, Lett went to the University of Manitoba with the intention of studying architecture. But she took singing lessons and started exploring the classical world and said she really loved it.

“I ended up auditioning for the faculty of music, did my undergrad, got into the Masters program in opera at the University of Toronto, and now it’s just been working and going where the jobs go.”

Wendy Nielsen, Head Vocal Consultant with the COC labels next week’s competition the top one of its kind in the nation while offering contestants the chance to come into their training program. That’s a launch pad for professional opera singers. She believes Lett has the ability.

“I’ve been very aware of Andrea’s talent and ability for years and I have to say there has been significant vocal change since her first appearance in the competition two years ago,” Nielsen said. “I’m really excited to hear her live.”

The finalists will perform various pieces at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts during the finals.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow