November 18-December 2 2020
Jody Lear, Mezzo-Soprano
Jody Lear started her musical journey in Gander, Newfoundland, where she first discovered singing and theatre. Unsure of the path she desired, she became acquainted with classical singing and fell in love with the feeling of freedom that it gave her. She went on to study her Bachelor of Music at Memorial University of Newfoundland under the guidance of Shelley Neville and vocal coach Eldon Murray. Jody graduated from her Master of Music at the University of British Columbia in May 2018, where she studied with baritone Dale Throness and director Nancy Hermiston.
Her time at UBC has enabled her to perform roles such as Isabella and Tisbe in Rossini classics l’Italiana in Algeri and La Cenerentola. She has also been lucky enough to explore contemporary opera as Vera Boronel in Menotti’s The Consul. Jody also spent eleven weeks with College Light Opera Company in Cape Cod, where she sang roles such as Phoebe Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard (Gilbert & Sullivan), and Mrs. Anderssen in A Little Night Music (Stephen Sondheim). Other notable roles include Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years, Suzy Simpson in The Marvelous Wonderettes, Lenny McGrath in Crimes of the Heart, and Meg Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Since returning to her second home in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Jody finds joy through performing in a smorgasbord of musical styles. Pre-COVID, she would deliver singing telegrams during the week with acapella trio The Boogie Babes, and on the weekends, you could catch her as lead vocalist of 12-piece funk band Cabot Power in performance bars on Newfoundland’s infamous George Street. However, Jody never fails to return to her operatic roots with Memorial University’s Opera Roadshow, which tours to schools to perform for children and educate them on singing and music!
Phil Roberts, Piano
Phil Roberts has served as visiting assistant professor of piano for the School of Music at Memorial University, as accompanist and vocal coach for the instrumental and vocal faculties at Memorial, and as a much sought-after collaborative colleague in the larger St. John’s community. His solo and collaborative work has taken him across Canada and to the U.S. and Europe, where his impressively broad performance skills have allowed him to enjoy work in the genres of jazz, opera and musical theatre as well as classical chamber music. Phil was the founder and executive director of PlayPianoNL, an organization that helped to build a community of pianists in Newfoundland and Labrador and to inspire a deep love of the piano in countless young musicians.
I Love What I’m Doing!
Jody Lear, mezzo-soprano & Phil Roberts, Piano
“Cruda sorte!” from l’Italiana in Algeri
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
“Mister Snow” from Carousel
R. Rodgers (1902-1979) and
O. Hammerstein (1895-1960)
From Carmen
“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”
“Près des remparts de Séville”
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
From South Pacific
“A Cockeyed Optimist”
“I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy”
R. Rodgers (1902-1979) and
O. Hammerstein (1895-1960)
Per lui che adoro
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
I Won’t Mind
Jeff Blumenkrantz (b. 1965)
“I Love What I’m Doing” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Jule Styne (1905-1994)
Blue
Joni Mitchell (b. 1943)
Paper Wings
i. Bedtime Story
ii. Paper Wings
iii. Mitten Smitten
iv. A Route to the Sky
Jake Heggie (b. 1961)