Ottawa-born soprano Ellen McAteer has been praised for her “brilliant, clear soprano” (New York Arts) “lovely, full sound” (Greater Hamilton Musician), “joy and ebullient charm” (Bach in Bethlehem), and “stupendous singing” (Calgary Herald), as well as for her “steely soprano” which “handles Purcell’s fussy lines with sparkling agility” (The Star). Her performances have been described as a “powerhouse of dramatic assuredness, the ultimate in vulnerable intensity” (Opera Canada).
Ellen’s performed operatic roles are diverse and include several world premieres alongside staples of the baroque and classical repertoire. Highlights include Amor in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, Armida in Handel's Rinaldo, Chorus II in James Rolfe's Overcoat, Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Dido, First Lady and Second Woman in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Lucia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Lola in James Rolfe’s opera Crush and Tigrane in Handel’s Radamisto. In concert, Ellen has performed a variety of repertoire with leading orchestras across North America, specializing in works by Bach, Handel and Mozart. She has performed as soprano soloist in all of Bach's Passions, many of his Cantatas, his B Minor Mass, Easter Oratorio and Magnificat, both Fauré and Mozart's Requiems, Handel's Israel in Egypt and Messiah, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Haydn’s The Creation. She is also in demand for modern works, such as Golijov’s Tenebrae, Britten's Les illuminations de Rimbaud, Pärt's L'Abbé Agathon, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, and is a popular choice for world premieres with a passion for tackling challenging modern works. Ellen’s voice can be heard on several CDs, most recently the Juno-nominated Le refuge du cœur (Analekta 2015), Four Thousand Winter (Sony 2015), The Tree of Life (Sony 2016) and The Path to Paradise (Sony 2017) featuring the newly formed Trinity Choir, directed by Daniel Taylor. She was the 2019 winner of the Brian Law Opera Competition, two-time recipient of the Richard Bradshaw Graduate Fellowship in Opera, and has been awarded the Ruby Mercer Opera Award, a Schulich Scholarship, the Gaelyne Gabora Memorial Prize and the E. M. Wirth Scholarship. She holds a M. Mus in Voice Performance from the University of Toronto, a B.Mus in Voice Performance from McGill University and was a recipient of the Glenn Gould School’s Rebanks Family Fellowship in addition to receiving career support from Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts. Ellen currently resides in Toronto with her husband, Daniel Taylor, their three children and miniature dachshund, Wilson. Not to be altered without permission. For biography requests, please complete contact form. |