Joyce El-Khoury is a Lebanese-Canadian opera singer performing with leading opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. She is a soprano praised for her bel canto singing.[1]

Joyce El-Khoury
Portrait of Joyce El-Khoury in New York Metropolitan Opera, performing at Tappan Park, Staten Island.
Born
Beirut, Lebanon
Alma materAcademy of Vocal Arts (AVA)
OccupationOperatic soprano
Years active2003–present
Websitejoyceelkhoury.com

Early life and education

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El-Khoury was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Jean and Alex El-Khoury. She has two sisters, Cynthia El-Khoury Najm and Krista Jane El-Khoury – the latter also a singer.[2] She came to Ottawa, Ontario, with her family at the age of six,[3] and began taking private voice lessons at the age of 15 with Karen Spicer.[4] With support from her teacher and parents, she pursued voice at the University of Ottawa under the tutelage of Ingemar Korjus.[5] After graduating her Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the University of Ottawa, she pursued her studies at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA)[6] in Philadelphia while studying with Bill Schuman. El-Khoury was then invited to study at the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program while continuing her studies with Schuman. Her musical mentor and vocal coach is Laurent Philippe,[3][7] with whom she regularly appears in recital.

Career

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During the summer of 2010, El-Khoury was engaged by Lorin Maazel and the Castleton Festival to sing Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and to cover[8] the title role in Suor Angelica. On opening night, she was asked to step in to sing Suor Angelica; this marked the beginning of Maazel's mentorship. She went on to perform Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville in Beijing, Mimì in Puccini's La bohème, the soprano part of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in Munich and her first Desdemona in Verdi's Otello with Maazel.[9]

She sang Mimì in her Australian debut in 2019 for Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House.[10]

Repertory

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Year Role Composer Opera Location
2009 Nedda Ruggiero Leoncavallo Pagliacci Knoxville Opera
2010[11] Frasquita Georges Bizet Carmen Metropolitan Opera
2011 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Knoxville Opera
2012 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Welsh National Opera
2012 Magda Giacomo Puccini La rondine Des Moines Metro Opera
2012 Mimì Giacomo Puccini La bohème Opera Lyra Ottawa
2012 Antonina Gaetano Donizetti Belisario Opera Rara
2013 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Palm Beach Opera
2013 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne
2013 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Dutch National Opera
2013 Desdemona Giuseppe Verdi Otello Castleton Festival
2013 Mimì Giacomo Puccini La bohème Canadian Opera Company
2013 Musetta Giacomo Puccini La bohème Canadian Opera Company
2014 Rusalka Antonín Dvořák Rusalka North Carolina Opera
2014 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Korea National Opera
2014 Rusalka Antonín Dvořák Rusalka Concertgebouw
2014 Micaëla Georges Bizet Carmen Santa Fe Opera
2014 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Lyric Opera of Kansas City
2014 Pauline Gaetano Donizetti Les martyrs Opera Rara
2015 Juliette Charles Gounod Roméo et Juliette Austin Opera
2015 Rosalinde Johann Strauss Die Fledermaus Vancouver Opera
2015 Emmeline Tobias Picker Emmeline Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
2015 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Savonlinna Opera Festival
2015 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Canadian Opera Company
2015 Musetta Giacomo Puccini La bohème Bayerische Staatsoper
2016 Tatiana Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin North Carolina Opera
2016 Maria Stuarda Gaetano Donizetti Maria Stuarda Seattle Opera
2016 Tatyana Bakst Jake Heggie Great Scott San Diego Opera
2016 Liú Giacomo Puccini Turandot Opera Philadelphia
2016 Salomé Jules Massenet Hérodiade Washington Concert Opera
2017 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Royal Opera House
2017 Leïla Georges Bizet Les pêcheurs de perles Opéra National de Bordeaux
2017 Violetta Valéry Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Glyndebourne
2017 Imogene Vincenzo Bellini Il pirata Opéra National de Bordeaux
2018 Musetta Giacomo Puccini La bohème Teatro Real de Madrid
2018 Imogene Vincenzo Bellini Il pirata Theater St. Gallen

Recordings

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Recognition and awards

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References

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  1. ^ "New Diva for a New Year – Soprano Joyce El-Khoury", Voix des Arts, 29 January 2014. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Student sings her way through a bachelor of commerce" Archived 29 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, University of Ottawa website, 27 February 2014. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b Kellow, Brian (2012). "Soundbites: Joyce El-Khoury". Opera News Online. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. ^ "A Soprano comes Full Circle", Ottawa Citizen Press Reader,4 September 2012. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  5. ^ Mazey, Steven (24 January 2016). "Songs for a mentor: Joyce El-Khoury honours her teacher Ingemar Korjus". Ottawa Citizen official website. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Alumni", Academy of Vocal Arts official website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Ask the Artist: Joyce El-Khoury", Santa Fe Opera Blog, 2015. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Castleton Festival opens with ‘La Boheme’", Washington Post official website. Accessed 25 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Joyce featured in Opera Canada", Joyce El-Khoury official website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Rising international star Joyce El-Khoury beguiles as Mimì in Opera Australia's La bohème in Sydney" by Sue Williams, The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 4 January 2019
  11. ^ "Joyce El-Khoury Schedule", Operabase. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Franz Liszt: Sardanapalo & Mazeppa", audite official website. Accessed 19 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Collections, Belisario" Archived 7 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Opera Rara official website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Collections, Les Martyrs" Archived 16 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Opera Rara official website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Brian Law Opera Competition", National Capital Opera Society. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Joyce El-Khoury is #OPERATHLETIC" Archived 7 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, OPERATHLETIC Official Site. Accessed 3 July 2016.
  17. ^ "WRTI Radio", WRTI Radio website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  18. ^ "AVA Blog", Academy of Vocal Arts News. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  19. ^ a b "2014 Winners and Nominees", International Opera Awards official website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
  20. ^ "2016 Winners", International Opera Awards official website. Accessed 23 June 2016.
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