artist
Mireille Asselin
A singer deemed “a treasure” by the Toronto Star, Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin enjoys a diverse, international career spanning concert, opera and recital work. To date, Mireille has sung five seasons at the Metropolitan Opera, where she debuted as Poussette in MANON. She then made waves by jumping in as Adele for opening night of DIE FLEDERMAUS under the baton of James Levine, giving a performance that critics raved “stole the show”, hailing it as one of New York’s “most enchanting” of the season.
Recently…
In the 2019-20 season, Mireille made debuts with The Champs-Elysées Theater in Paris and Garsington Opera (Zerlina, DON GIOVANNI), the Milwaukee Symphony (Handel’s MESSIAH) and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (Mozart’s REQUIEM). She also returned to sing at Carnegie Hall (Bach’s CHRISTMAS ORATORIO) and Opera Atelier (Zerlina, DON GIOVANNI), in addition to giving multiple performances with the Mirror Visions Ensemble in recitals across North America. Her recording of Haydn’s HARMONIEMESSE with the Handel and Haydn Society was also released on the CORO label.
Since the pandemic shuttered stages around the globe, she has appeared on several filmed releases by Opera Atelier (SOMETHING RICH AND STRANGE & ANGEL), Soundstreams (GARDEN OF VANISHED PLEASURES), Boston Early Music Festival (ORFEO & LA DESCENTE D’ORPHÉE) and the Mirror Visions Ensemble (MIDNIGHT MAGIC). She looks forward to resuming in-person performances later this season with Vancouver Opera (ORFEO ED EURYDICE), and the Rhode Island Symphony (MESSIAH), as well as embarking on a tour of recitals with the Mirror Visions Ensemble across the USA, Scotland and Wales.
In Opera…
In her five seasons at the Met, Mireille performed Adele in DIE FLEDERMAUS and Poussette in MANON, and covered Valencienne in THE MERRY WIDOW, Jemmy in GUILLAUME TELL and Rosina in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. As a respected interpreter of early music Mireille appears regularly with period groups such as Opera Atelier in Toronto and at the Boston Early Music Festival where her most recent roles have included Susanna (MARRIAGE OF FIGARO), Créuse (MÉDÉE), Celia (LUCIO SILLA), Morgana (ALCINA), Galatea (ACIS AND GALATEA), Minerva (ULISSE), and La Musica/Euridice in ORFEO. She made her European opera debut as Princesse Andromède (PERSÉE) at Versailles in 2014, sang the title role in BERENICE at the 2016 Göttingen International Handel Festival, Germany, and worked at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy, covering the title role in RICCIARDO E ZORAIDE.
As a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio she performed Adele in FLEDERMAUS, Servilia in CLEMENZA DI TITO, and the title role in Handel’s SEMELE (studio performance). Her operatic credits elsewhere include Eurydice (Glück’s ORPHÉE), Despina (COSI FAN TUTTE), Thérèse (MAMELLES), Nannetta (FALSTAFF), Musetta (LA BOHÈME), the title role in Stravinsky’s ROSSIGNOL, Lauretta (GIANNI SCHICCHI), and Soeur Constance (DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES).
In concert and in recording…
Mireille is an accomplished concert singer and recitalist and has appeared with many of North America’s major orchestras and festivals including the Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary and Edmonton Symphony Orchestras, Les Violons du Roy, le Festival Lanaudière, the Ottawa Chamberfest and the Music & Beyond Festival. She is an acknowledged champion of contemporary music and has participated in a number of premieres and workshops of new compositions.
In April 2011, she made her Carnegie Hall debut singing Vaughan Williams’ DONA NOBIS PACEM and returned to Carnegie in January of 2012 to give a recital in Marilyn Horne’s “The Song Continues” series. She is an avid recitalist and is a core member of The Mirror Visions Ensemble.
Her discography includes two albums of Canadian repertoire – “Ash Roses” of music by composer Derek Holman on the Centrediscs label, and “Inspired by Canada – Notre Pays” with Marquis Classics. Mireille has also done film work, starring as Pamina in the feature film Magic Flute Diaries at the age of 21.
Her training…
Mireille obtained her Master of Music from Yale University’s prestigious Opera Program in 2010, and was a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio (2011-12 & 2012-13 seasons). Prior to her studies at Yale, she completed a Bachelor of Music at the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (2007).
She has been a young artist with the Glimmerglass Festival (2012), Opera NUOVA (2008) and Centro Studi Lirica (2005), has studied art song at Toronto Summer Music (2011), Handel oratorio at the Britten-Pears Programme (2008 & 2010), baroque music at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute (2007) and contemporary vocal music with Queen of Puddings Summer Music Theatre (2007).
The other things…
Mireille was born in Ottawa, Canada, and is both an American and Canadian citizen. She is a member of American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA). She is a board member of Almonte in Concert and Farmer’s Abroad Canada, a charity supporting agricultural programs in developing nations. She currently resides in Almonte, Ontario, with her husband, Chris, and their dog, Teddy.