Phillip Addis & Emily Hamper
Canadian baritone Phillip Addis is best known as the ideal Pelléas of his generation, a role he sang with opera companies and orchestras in Modena, Piacenza, Parma, Luxemburg, Cincinnati, Dresden, Bochum, Hamburg, Paris and London.
Canadian baritone Phillip Addis is best known as the ideal Pelléas of his generation, a role he sang with opera companies and orchestras in Modena, Piacenza, Parma, Luxemburg, Cincinnati, Dresden, Bochum, Hamburg, Paris and London. He is as renowned for his Count Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro whom he has portrayed in over a dozen different productions worldwide. 2025/26 season engagements include Sharpless Madama Butterfly at Calgary Opera, his home company, Messiah in his return to Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Count Almaviva at Manitoba Opera and both Messiah and Carmina Burana with Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Recent season highlights include the title role Don Giovanni, Malatesta Don Pasquale and Marco Gianni Schicci at Calgary Opera, Zurga Les pêcheurs de perles with Vancouver Opera; he made role debuts as Don Alfonso Così fan tutte with Pacific Opera Victoria and as Sharpless with Opéra de Québec; other recent engagements include Count Almaviva at Calgary Opera as well as his first Malatesta at Vancouver Opera. Orchestral engagements took the artist to Calgary Philharmonic (Carmina Burana) and Orchestre Classique De Montréal for Messiah. In 2021 Mr Addis appeared as the Count Le nozze di Figaro at Opéra de Lausanne and Opéra Royal de Versailles. He also starred in the Rai5 live broadcast of the new Barbe&Doucet production of Pelléas et Mélisande from Teatro Regio di Parma. Notable successes in the French repertoire include the title role Werther at l'Opéra de Montréal, as Jaufré L'amour de loin at Festival d'Opéra de Québec and Vlaamse Oper, as Zurga with Vancouver Opera and l'Opéra de Montréal, and as Frère Léon in the award-winning St. François d'Assise with the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra. Mr. Addis balances his operatic career with extensive concert experience. He was the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, in Britten's War Requiem at Cincinnati May Festival and at the Britten LA/100 Festival, as well as the world premiere of Scott Good's The Sleepers with London Sinfonia. He has appeared with eminent conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, James Conlon, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Seiji Ozawa, Kent Nagano, Carlo Rizzi, and Sylvain Cambreling. With a passion for the art song repertoire, Addis has given recitals with his collaborative pianist, Emily Hamper, at l'Opéra National de Paris, the Canadian Opera Company, Brisbane Music Festival, Orford Arts Centre, Vancouver International Song Institute, and Canadian Art Song Project. Now based in Calgary, Emily Hamper is one of Canada's most highly regarded vocal coaches. Her work as opera coach, assistant conductor and répétiteur has taken her across Canada and to the USA and Europe, including Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Slovak National Theatre. She is currently Head Coach at Calgary Opera. As a collaborator for voice recitals, she has partnered many of Canada's finest singers for such presenters as Zoomer TV, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, L'Opéra National de Paris and Queensland Music Festival. She is an alumna of UBC, the University of Toronto, and the Merola opera program at San Francisco Opera, and winner of the "Best Collaborative Pianist" Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition. Her strong interest in new music led to her engagement as principal coach and ensemble pianist for the world premiere of the new Canadian opera Silence in the summer of 2025. Emily began her career on the music staff at the University of Toronto's Opera Division. She was Music Director of Opera at Wilfrid Laurier University from 2019 - 2022, and for many years a member of the coaching staff at Dolora Zajick's Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. In 2015, she co-founded the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy, an élite program for aspiring singers and pianists. With her passion for mentoring and inspiring young artists, Emily is in demand as masterclass teacher and clinician, and works closely with the McPhee Artists at Calgary Opera.   Part of the Claim Your Seat (https://arts.ucalgary.ca/creative-performing-arts/news-and-events/school-events/claim-your-seat) program. UCalgary students can request their free ticket in-person at the box office or online, limited quantity available! UCalgary employees and alumni receive 50% off for themselves and one guest.
Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rozsa Centre
Friday, November 6, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. to Friday, November 6, 2026 at 9:30 p.m. (Calgary time)
Last checked: 2026-09-27T05:23:54.511Z