Canadian soprano, Heather Newhouse, studied with Kevin McMillan at the University of Western
Ontario, Canada where she completed a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance with honours and
received the gold medal. In 2006, she completed a Master of Music at the Guildhall School of Music
and Drama in London. In 2006, she moved to France to pursue further training at the Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Lyon where she studied with Brain Parsons. She has since
continued to study voice with Cécile De Boever and Susan McCulloch. In 2010, she participated in the
summer academy at the Festival d’Aix-en- Provence. In 2012, she was awarded First Prize at the
Concours international de chant baroque in Froville and Second Prize at the Concours international de
Mâcon. From 2011 to 2013, she was a member of the Opera Studio at the Opéra National de Lyon,
working closely with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt. She performed in numerous productions : Die
Zauberflöte (Pamina) with Stefano Montanari, Parsifal (Blumenmädchen) and The Turn of the Screw
(Governess) with Kazushi Ono.
Heather pursues an international career, in operatic and concert repertoire. She has performed:
Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor (Mlle Silberklang) with Leonardo Garcia Alarcon and the Orchestre de
Chambre de Genève, Britten’s The Turn of the Screw (Governess) with the late Patrick Davin at the
Opéra du Rhin, L’Europe galante (Céphise) by Campra with Les Nouveaux Caractères, directed by
Sébastien d’Hérin at the Opéra de Versailles, Berio Folk Songs with Patrick Davin and the Orchestre
Symphonique de Mulhouse, Quatre Jeunes Filles by Edison Denisov with Daniel Kawka at the festival
Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo. In Canada, she sang Mozart’s Requiem with l’Orchestre
Symphonique de Montréal conducted by Hervé Niquet. She sang Charpentier’s Litanies de la Vierge
with Ensemble Correspondances, Sébastien Daucé. She returned to Montreal in 2022 to sing with
Arion Baroque, Mathieu Lussier, for a recital of French women Baroque composers and Rameau arias.
Also in 2022, she sang Bach’s B minor Mass with Ensemble Arianna, directed by Marie-Paule Nounou
and Grieg’s Peer Gynt (village girl) with Elena Schwarz at the Opéra de Lyon.
Heather Newhouse works closely with two Baroque ensembles: Ausonia and Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu.
Ensemble Ausonia, musical director Frédérick Haas, has invited Heather for productions such as : Bach
– Kapellmeister & Cantor and a co-production with Les Festivals de Wallonies Combattimento – a
concert that features Monteverdi’s great madrigal as well as Tomoe, a new composition by Claude
Ledoux. Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu, musical direction Franck-Emmanuel Comte, has collaborated with
Heather for productions such as : Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, a Mozart solo recital, given at the
prestigious Lyon Amphithéâtre, La Donna Barocca, a recital programme dedicated to Italian women
Baroque composers, and Folia premiered in 2018 for festival Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon. Folia is a dance
creation by Mourad Merzouki, a fusion of Baroque music and hip-hop dance in which she sings
neapolitan folksongs and Vivaldi arias with a very engaging staging for the singer. With already 100
shows performed, Folia has toured in many prestigious European theaters : Théâtre 13ème Art in Paris,
Theaterhaus Stuttgart – Coloris International Dance Festival, the Corum Opera in Montpellier, the
Opéra Grand d’Avignon, Moscow International Theatre Festival, Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto,
Vaisonla-Romaine amphitheater.
2023/2024 season includes many performances in the ongoing tour of Folia, notably at Dijon Opera,
as well as Dolce Follia, the concert version of this same show. She will perform Pergolesi’s Salve Regina
with the Ensemble Baroque de Nice. She will perform for the Radio France live broadcast Génération
France Musique with her newly founded chamber music trio Dara – the concert programme London
Fog – Benjamin Britten’s realizations of Purcell songs and folksongs. She is delighted to be returning to
Montreal to sing with Arion Baroque – The French Connection – a concert programme that highlights
French influence on English music in the 17th century, Purcell, Lully and others!