Claire Gagnier (March 28, 1924 – December 25, 2022) was a Canadian soprano singer from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Life and career

Gagnier was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on March 28, 1924, and took voice lessons from . In 1944, she won first prize on the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC) program '' Singing Stars of Tomorrow''. Assisted by a grant from the provincial government, she attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In May 1945, she appeared in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' with members of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

. Gagnier appeared in many concerts in Canada and the United States. She performed in CBC radio and television opera broadcasts, including ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' and ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

''. She appeared regularly on the CBC radio program "Serenade For Strings" and the CBC television shows "À la claire fontaine" and "The

Jackie Rae John Arthur Rae, CM, DFC (May 14, 1921 – October 5, 2006) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and television performer. Biography He was born John Arthur Cohen to immigrants in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1921. His father Goodman Cohen was Lithu ...

Show". In 1972, she received the Calixa-Lavallée Award from the Montreal

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

. Gagnier was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1990. In 1996, she was inducted into the Canadian Opera Hall of Fame. Her sister

Ève Ève is a French given name, the counterpart to the English name Eve and the Latinate Eva. Notable people with this name include: People * Ève Angeli, French musician * Ève Bazaiba, a member of the Movement of the Liberation of the Congo * Ève ...

was a well-known Quebec actress. Claire Gagnier died on December 25, 2022, at the age of 98.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gagnier, Claire 1924 births 2022 deaths Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian sopranos Members of the Order of Canada Singers from Montreal