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). She is the 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. In October 2018, Ellen was invited as a delegate to West Africa on a state visit with the Governor General of Canada. This honour allowed her to showcase Canada’s artistic culture in Burkina Faso, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria through concerts and masterclasses.
Ellen’s performed operatic roles are diverse and include several premieres, such as the role of Rebecca in Joel Ivany’s transladaptation and amalgamation of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, entitled No One’s Safe (The Banff Centre, dir. Joel Ivany), Mother in composer Joe Amato’s oratorio With Respect at the Diefenbunker Museum in Ottawa, Chorus II in James Rolfe and Morris Panych’s Overcoat (Tapestry Opera, dir. Jordan de Souza) and the concert work Girl by Donald Patriquin (Cantiamo Girls Choir of Ottawa, dir. Jackie Hawley). Other performed roles include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Toronto City Opera, dir. Erik Thor), First Lady and Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas (Opera Atelier, dir. Pynkoski), Armida in Handel's Rinaldo (MAI, dir. Barbara Wojtczak), Lucia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (The Banff Centre, dir. Paul Curran / Anna Theodosakis), Lola in James Rolfe’s opera Crush (The Banff Centre, dir. Amiel Gladstone), Despina in Joel Ivany’s transladaptation of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, entitled A Little Too Cozy (Against the Grain Theatre, dir. Joel Ivany), Tigrane in Handel’s Radamisto (Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, dir. Martin Haselböck) and Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Theatre of Early Music, dir. Bill Coleman).
In concert, Ellen has performed a variety of repertoire including Bach's St Matthew Passion (Victoria Philharmonic Choir), Respighi's Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Bethlehem Bach Choir), Handel's Israel in Egypt (Caelis Ensemble), Mozart's Requiem (Grand Philharmonic Choir), Fauré's Requiem (Ottawa Choral Society), Bach's B Minor Mass (Metropolitan United), Bach / Heighes Saint Mark Passion (Abberger Players), Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium (Bach Choir of Bethlehem), Bach’s Coffee Cantata (Theatre of Early Music), Bach’s Magnificat (Theatre of Early Music), Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion (Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul), Handel’s Messiah (Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra / Peterborough Singers), Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra), C. P. E. Bach’s Magnificat (Bach Choir of Bethlehem) and Haydn’s The Creation (Bach Choir of Bethlehem / Peterborough Singers) as well as modern works such as Golijov’s Tenebrae (Glenn Gould Ensemble), Pärt's L'Abbé Agathon (The Banff Centre), Britten’s Les illuminations de Rimbaud (University of Toronto with Helen Becqué) and Orff’s Carmina Burana (McGill University). 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.
Updated November 2021. Not to be altered without permission.
Ellen’s performed operatic roles are diverse and include several premieres, such as the role of Rebecca in Joel Ivany’s transladaptation and amalgamation of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, entitled No One’s Safe (The Banff Centre, dir. Joel Ivany), Mother in composer Joe Amato’s oratorio With Respect at the Diefenbunker Museum in Ottawa, Chorus II in James Rolfe and Morris Panych’s Overcoat (Tapestry Opera, dir. Jordan de Souza) and the concert work Girl by Donald Patriquin (Cantiamo Girls Choir of Ottawa, dir. Jackie Hawley). Other performed roles include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Toronto City Opera, dir. Erik Thor), First Lady and Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas (Opera Atelier, dir. Pynkoski), Armida in Handel's Rinaldo (MAI, dir. Barbara Wojtczak), Lucia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (The Banff Centre, dir. Paul Curran / Anna Theodosakis), Lola in James Rolfe’s opera Crush (The Banff Centre, dir. Amiel Gladstone), Despina in Joel Ivany’s transladaptation of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, entitled A Little Too Cozy (Against the Grain Theatre, dir. Joel Ivany), Tigrane in Handel’s Radamisto (Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, dir. Martin Haselböck) and Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Theatre of Early Music, dir. Bill Coleman).
In concert, Ellen has performed a variety of repertoire including Bach's St Matthew Passion (Victoria Philharmonic Choir), Respighi's Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Bethlehem Bach Choir), Handel's Israel in Egypt (Caelis Ensemble), Mozart's Requiem (Grand Philharmonic Choir), Fauré's Requiem (Ottawa Choral Society), Bach's B Minor Mass (Metropolitan United), Bach / Heighes Saint Mark Passion (Abberger Players), Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium (Bach Choir of Bethlehem), Bach’s Coffee Cantata (Theatre of Early Music), Bach’s Magnificat (Theatre of Early Music), Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion (Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul), Handel’s Messiah (Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra / Peterborough Singers), Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra), C. P. E. Bach’s Magnificat (Bach Choir of Bethlehem) and Haydn’s The Creation (Bach Choir of Bethlehem / Peterborough Singers) as well as modern works such as Golijov’s Tenebrae (Glenn Gould Ensemble), Pärt's L'Abbé Agathon (The Banff Centre), Britten’s Les illuminations de Rimbaud (University of Toronto with Helen Becqué) and Orff’s Carmina Burana (McGill University). 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.
Updated November 2021. Not to be altered without permission.
Athalia, Athalia, Handel (VCM, 2014)