BY KATHRYN-JANE HAZEL
Two of the soloists in Malaspina Choir’s upcoming concert We Sing of Love have travelled far to pursue their love of opera.
Limin Yu and Alie Noruzi will be performing two love duets from operas by Verdi and Mozart at the concert, which is being held April 30 at St. Andrew’s United Church.
Yu came to Canada 12 years ago from Beijing to take tourism management at VIU. He had studied piano as a boy in China, but discovered a new musical passion after he arrived here.
“I started to fall in love with this type of art, and decided I would like to stretch out of my comfort zone and spend my whole life to take on this new challenge,” he said.
He took vocal lessons, began singing in various choirs, including Malaspina Choir 10 years ago, and appeared in Opera Nanaimo’s Voices in the Vineyard concerts and the Port Theatre show Front Row Opera.
Noruzi began her musical journey in Iran, where at age seven she was inspired by the soundtrack of the Walt Disney movie Sleeping Beauty to follow her dream of studying music.
She started singing as a child, learned guitar as a teenager, and began ear training and music theory lessons, travelling 12 hours round-trip for her weekly one-hour lessons.
Noruzi began studies in the classical music performance program at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in 2017, finishing in two years, and continued her voice lessons.
She had the opportunity to sing various excerpts from operas during her studies at the VCM, but, she said, “this is the first time I am singing the solo part of such a demanding piece, and I am so grateful to the Malaspina Choir for this opportunity.”
It is also the first time for Yu to be singing as a soloist with a full choir.
“Only in choir, everyone learns to co-operate with each other and all sing in harmony,” he said. “I wish our society could be like that, with less conflict, disunity, and contentiousness.”
As well as the opera choruses, the concert will feature madrigals, folk songs and love song waltzes by Brahms, celebrating four centuries of love in music.
Artistic director Fiona Blackburn will be joined by the choir’s collaborative pianist Jenny Vincent, who will do a special four-hands performance of the Brahms with guest pianist Stefanie Unger.
WHAT’S ON…We Sing of Love will be at St. Andrew’s United Church, 311 Fitzwilliam St. on April 30 at 7:30 p.m. Wearing a mask is recommended for audience members. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased in advance at www.porttheatre.com. For more information, visit www.malaspinachoir.com.