Allyson McHardy
Canadian mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy brings a distinguished international career and a deep commitment to vocal excellence to the Schulich School of Music voice faculty. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as 鈥渁 singer of enormous imagination and versatility鈥�, Ms.McHardy has been celebrated for her rich, expressive voice and compelling artistry. She has performed with many of the world鈥檚 leading opera companies, symphony orchestras, and early music ensembles, including recent credits with Sweden鈥檚 Drottningholms Slottsteater, Chicago鈥檚 Music of the Baroque, and l鈥橭rchestre symphonique de Montr茅al.
An Ontario native, Allyson has carefully curated a career that balances opera and concert repertoire that moves easily from Handel to Donizetti; from Mahler to Heggie. Among notable productions, she appeared in the title role of Peter Hall鈥檚 Glyndebourne production of Rossini鈥檚 Cenerentola, the Prix Opus winning productions of Heggie鈥檚 Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen, Op茅ra de Montr茅al) and Wagner鈥檚 Der Fliegende Holl盲nder (Mary, Op茅ra du Qu茅bec), and in the celebrated Robert Carsen production of Britten鈥檚 A Midsummer Night's Dream in Beijing, Aix-en-Provence, and Philadelphia. Allyson also appeared as Julie Riel in Harry Somers鈥櫬�Louis Riel, a Canadian Opera Company production, also seen in Ottawa (National Arts Centre) and Qu茅bec City (Op茅ra de Qu猫bec), as part of Canada's sesquicentennial celebrations. Further opera highlights include principal roles in Mozart鈥檚 La Clemenza di Tito at the Palais Garnier for the Paris Opera, Donizetti鈥檚 Lucrezia Borgia in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Roberto Devereux for the Canadian Opera Company, Amadis De Gaule at the Op茅ra Comique, Handel鈥檚 Alcina with Opera Atelier, Il Barbieri di Siviglia with San Francisco Opera, Handel鈥檚 Hercules with Toronto鈥檚 Tafelmusik, and the leading role of Rose Valland in the world premiere of Bilodeau鈥檚 Le beaut茅 du monde with Op茅ra de Montr茅al (OdeM).
On the concert stage, she has appeared across Canada with the Toronto Symphony, l鈥橭rchestre symphonique de Qu茅bec, Vancouver Symphony, Les Violons du Roy, Victoria Symphony, Early Music Vancouver, and the National Art Centre Orchestra; and internationally with the Boston Symphony, Minnesota Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Grant Park Festival of Chicago, Indianapolis Symphony, St Louis Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orquesta Sinf贸nica de Madrid and the Kansas City Symphony. Adam Fischer, Seiji Ozawa, Jeremy Rohrer, Kent Nagano, Emmanuelle Haim, Bernard Labadie, Trevor Pinnock, Ludovic Morlot, Kristian Kluxen, Carlos Kalmar, and Corrado Rovaris are among the conductors with whom she has collaborated for performances of works such as Lieberson鈥檚 Neruda Songs, Rameau鈥檚 Hippolyte et Aricie (Ph猫dre), Bach鈥檚 Matth盲us Passion, Ravel鈥檚 L鈥橦eure Espagnole, Ligeti鈥檚 Requiem, Verdi鈥檚 Requiem, Elgar鈥檚 The Dream of Gerontius, and Mahler鈥檚 Symphony No. 2.
Allyson is also a dedicated recitalist and a passionate advocate for Canadian art song and contemporary repertoire. Ms. McHardy brings deep interpretive insight and a spirit of collaboration to her recital work, which forms a vital and ongoing part of her artistic identity. Her performances have been featured by major Canadian institutions, including CBC Radio, the Canadian Art Song Project and Soci茅t茅 d鈥檃rt vocal de Montr茅al. She continues to advocate for the expansion of the Canadian vocal repertoire through both performance and education.
Allyson鈥檚 discography includes the JUNO nominated Canadian Art Song Project鈥檚 disc, Summer Night, featuring the music of Healey Willan, and the JUNO nominated Orlando by George Frideric Handel with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and Alexander Weimann (ATMA). Other CDs include the JUNO and ADISQ nominated recording of Caldara鈥檚 La Conversione di Clodoveo, Re di Francia (ATMA), Bellini鈥檚 Norma with the Warsaw Philharmonic (Philharmonia Narodowa), two works by Harry Somers 鈥�Serinette and A Midwinter Night鈥檚 Dream (Centrediscs), and Ukrainian music by composer Mykola Lysenko in a six-disc collection on the Musica Leopolis label.
Alongside her performance career, Allyson has maintained a private studio, and served on the voice faculty of the University of Ottawa (2020-2023). Most recently, she returned to her alma mater, Wilfrid Laurier University, for the 24/25 academic year, bringing full circle her journey from student to mentor. Additionally, she has been engaged as a clinician and adjudicator for Nuova Vocal Arts, the Glenn Gould School, the Toronto Arts Council, Conservatoire de musique et d鈥檃rt dramatique de Qu茅bec and the Collingwood Music Festival. She has also enjoyed participating in many mentorship initiatives and masterclasses across Canada, at institutions like the Vancouver Academy of Music, Pacific Opera Victoria, Calgary Opera, and Atelier Lyrique de l鈥橭p茅ra de Montr茅al. Allyson continues to inspire young singers, striving to not only equip them with vocal technique, but the artistry and confidence required to thrive on today鈥檚 world stages.
