Sharon Azrieli

Sharon Azrieli is a Canadian soprano and cantor from Montreal, Quebec. Azrieli performs classical, operatic, and musical theater works, playing parts such as Juliet in Charles Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette", Mimi in "La Bohème" and Susanna in "Le Nozze di Figaro". She attended Juilliard and has performed with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company.
Early life and education.
Azrieli was born in Montreal, Quebec to Canadian architect, philanthropist and Holocaust survivor, David Azrieli. Azrieli moved to New York City after attending Vassar College, where she graduated with a degree in Art History, and an Associate Degree in Illustration from the Parsons School of Design. While studying illustration she got a Diploma in Vocal Performance under Ellen Faull at the Juilliard School, where her mentors included Joan Dornemann, Principal Prompter at the Metropolitan Opera and the late Herbert Breslin. Joan Dornemann invited her to attend her Vocal Arts Institute in Israel over three successive summers where she performed several leading roles, including Norina in "Don Pasquale" and Musetta in "La Boheme". In 2006, Azrieli obtained a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Université de Montréal, and then in 2011 a Doctorate in Music from the same university.
Early career.
The Canadian Opera Company's artistic director, the late Richard Bradshaw, scouted Azrieli, starting her career as a professional opera singer. Barshaw hired her as an understudy for the part of Juliet in a production of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" and as Mimi in a small-stage production of Puccini's "La Bohème". Artist manager Matthew Laifer spotted Azrieli's performance and invited her to his roster. Under Lafier's management, she performed with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in their production of Rossini's "Stabat Mater" and Beethoven's "Mass in C Minor". Other works included a concert of Puccini arias and Leonard Bernstein's "." She also worked with Alexander Brott of McGill Chamber Orchestra, and understudied for Mirella Freni as Adrienne Lecouvreur with l’Opéra de Paris. A significant event in Azrieli's career came when she played the part of Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro" at the Sarasota opera.
Cantorial work.
Azrieli put her opera career on hold after the birth of her two sons. To support her family, she enrolled at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York and began her first job as a Cantor for Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor. Azrieli and her sons moved back to Montreal in 2000, where she became a full-time cantor at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom from 2001 until 2003. While completing her D. Mus. at the Université de Montréal in 2011, she wrote her thesis on ethnomusicological links between the music of Giuseppe Verdi and ancient Jewish scales/modes.
Return to the stage.
After her sons had grown up, Azrieli returned to opera. She became a student of Bill Schuman, a vocal coach who had previously worked with Celine Dion, Aprile Millo, and teaches at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. With Schuman's help, Azrieli primed her voice for Verdian soprano roles. Azrieli performed Leonora in "Il trovatore" and "Aida". She performed the roles of the prioress in "Dialogues des carmélites" and Leonora in "La forza del destino" with One World Symphony Orchestra. She sang the role of Mimi in "La Boheme” with the New Jersey Association of Verismo opera company and La Gioconda in "La Gioconda". She has performed at several major festivals including Brott Music Festival in Hamilton, Ontario, and Festival Sefarad in Montreal. In 2017 Azrieli performed at Carnegie Hall, in 2018 at the Metropolitan Opera as Sister Dolcina in Puccini's "Suor Angelica", and in 2019 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, singing Marcellina in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" under conductor Alexander Shelley. She performs regularly in her hometown of Montreal with L'Orchestre Classique de Montréal under conductor Boris Brott, in 2016 with L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Kent Nagano as the Soprano soloist in Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, and in 2019 with L'Orchestre Métropolitain as part of the Violins of Hope concert, which featured restored violins previously owned by Holocaust victims and survivors. In 2019, Azrieli was named a Chevalière of the National Order of Quebec for her artistic achievements and philanthropic work.
Philanthropy.
Azrieli sits on the board of directors for the Azrieli Foundation. She created the Foundation's $150,000 composition and commission competition called the Azrieli Music Prize, which promotes new Jewish and Canadian music. 