BIOGRAPHY
Photo by LINDSAY LOZON
WENDY HATALA FOLEY
Mezzo-soprano
Wendy Hatala Foley has been enchanting Canadian audiences with her "magnificent voice" (Paula Citron, 96.3FM) and engaging performances. With a growing reputation as one of Canada’s foremost mezzo-sopranos, Wendy’s powerful voice and commanding stage presence continue to impress audiences nation-wide.
During the 2009/2010 season, she covered the role of Death in the Canadian Opera Company’s Le Rossignol. She sang a brilliant Messiah with the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil under the baton of Marc David. She was invited to sing in Toronto Operetta's 25th Anniversary Jubilee Gala Concert. Wendy also participated in a workshop performing the role of Lyuba in Oksana G. by Aaron Gervais, with the COC Orchestra, conducted by Wayne Strongman. Next season Wendy will be singing Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Lyra Ottawa, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Hamilton, and the Beggar Woman in Death in Venice with the Canadian Opera Company. She will also be covering the roles of 3rd Secretary in Nixon in China and Death in Le Rossignol, both with The Canadian Opera Company
Ms. Hatala Foley enjoyed a busy season in 2008/2009 with engagements as the Third Lady in Mozart's Magic Flute with Opera Hamilton, Giunia in Mercadante's La Vestale with Opera in Concert, the Fairy Queen in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe with Toronto Operetta Theatre, Handel's Messiah with Chorus London and a concert of duets and arias with the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to a 2007 recording and tour of the Vivaldi Stabat Mater with the Vancouver Island Symphony, Ms. Hatala Foley's recent oratorio credits include Verdi's Requiem with The Vancouver Bach Choir with the UBC Choir and Symphony, Rossini's Petite Messe Solonnelle with The Orpheus Choir and Chorus Niagara, Brahms' Alto Rhapsody and Raminsh's Symphony of Psalms with The Amadeus Choir, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Chorus London, Mozart's Requiem with the Oakville Symphony, and Handel's Messiah with The Newfoundland Symphony.
Wendy has worked with many of Canada’s finest conductors, including Jonathan Darlington, David Speers, Robert Cooper, Lydia Adams, Marc David, Gerald Fagan, Bruce Pullan, Marlin Wolfe, Matthew Larkin, Laura Thomas, Roberto DeClara, Jon van Liempt, Johann Lowersheimer, Owen Underhill, Leslie Uyeda, Darryl Nixon, and Clyde Mitchell.
Of her recent appearance as Katisha in Toronto Operetta Theatre's The Mikado, Colin Eatock of the Globe and Mail wrote: "Wendy Hatala Foley … burst on stage like a madwoman escaped from an Italian opera; her powerful voice and stage presence energized every scene she appeared in." Other operatic appearances include the Mother/Witch in Opera Hamilton's School Tour of Hansel and Gretel, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Vancouver Opera, and the role of Trish in Leslie Uyeda's Game Misconduct for Festival Vancouver. Richard Todd in the Ottawa Citizen wrote of her 2007 Duruflé Requiem with the Ottawa Choral Society: "Hatala Foley rendered a lovely account of the Pie Jesu, now serene, now urgent, always powerful and expressive."