Gluck/ Lemieux/ Labadie - Opera Arias

In this highly anticipated recording, Marie Nicole Lemieux performs beloved arias by Gluck, Haydn and Mozart. Lemieux brings her velvety tone and considerable talents to bear in performances of arias ranging from well-known pieces such as Voi, che sapete to lesser known gems. She is accompanied by the acclaimed Canadian ensemble Les Violins du Roy. In 2000, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux became the first Canadian to win the First Prize and the Special Prize for Lieder at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Belgium. Winning these prestigious awards opened the door to an immediate international career, allowing her to perform in recital and in concert with the world's greatest orchestras. Each year, Lemieux is invited to sing in prestigious venues and international music festivals in North America and overseas. The chamber orchestra Les Violins du Roy borrows it's name from the renowned string orchestra of the court of the French kings. The group, which has a core membership of fifteen players, was brought together in 1984 by music director Bernard Labadie and specializes in the vast repertoire of music for chamber orchestra, performed in the stylistic manner most appropriate to each era. Although the ensemble plays on modern instruments, it's approach to the works of the Baroque and Classical periods has been strongly influenced by current research into performance practice in the 17th and early 18th centuries; in this repertoire Les Violins du Roy uses copies of period bows. Les Violins du Roy is at the heart of the music scene in Quebec City, where it has been in residence at the Palais Montcalm since 2007. The orchestra is well known throughout Canada thanks to the numerous concerts and recordings broadcast by Societe Radio-Canada and CBC, and it's regular presence at music festivals. Since it's first performance in Washington in 1995, Les Violins du Roy has extended it's performance network in the United States and now makes regular stops in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The orchestra is heard frequently on NPR in the United States.