To mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Hector Berlioz, ATMA Classique and Festival Classica present the first complete recording of the composer's arrangements of romances for voice and guitar featuring soprano Magali Simard-Gald�s and tenor Antonio Figueroa, accompanied by David Jacques, who plays an 1829 Jean-Joseph Coffe guitar.
Selected from The Receuil de Romances avec Accompagnement de Guitare, most of these pieces are arrangements of popular tunes from the comic operas that were all the rage in Paris in Berlioz's time. The young Qu�b�coise soprano Magali Simard-Gald�s has been acclaimed for her crystalline timbre, great musicality, and magnetic stage personality.
The young Qu�b�coise soprano Magali Simard-Gald�s has been acclaimed for her crystalline timbre, great musicality, and magnetic stage personality. Recent debuts include the role of Sophie in Werther for Op�ra de Qu�bec, and Louisette in Bonsoir voisin by Ferdinand Poise at Opera Lafayette. She also returned to the Op�ra de Montr�al to sing Frasquita in Carmen and gave a recital at the Soci�t� d'art vocal de Montr�al.
Montreal native Antonio Figueroa began his career by joining the Op�ra de Montr�al's Atelier lyrique artist-in-residence program, He has won several awards, including the International Vocal Arts Institute's Silverman Prize for his performance as Belmonte. His acclaimed debut in the role of Nadir (Les P�cheurs de perles) at the Op�ra d'Avignon lead to prestigious invitations from the Op�ra Comique, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Capitole de Toulouse, and the Theater an der Wien. Figueroa's career has taken off across Canada too, thanks to performances with Pacific Opera and with the opera companies of Qu�bec City, Montreal, and Ottawa.
Guitarist and lutenist David Jacques has a Ph.D. in early music performance from the Universit� de Montr�al. He studied classical guitar at the C�gep de Sainte-Foy, Universit� Laval, and the Conservatoire de musique de Qu�bec. His discography consists of 50-plus recordings on the XXI-21, ATMA, Oz, and Analekta labels, several of which have been nominated for ADISQ, JUNO, Opus, and �CHO Classik prizes. Jacques has been awarded Opus Prizes for three of his discs: Pi�ces de guitarre de Mr R�my M�dard (2008), Tango Bor�al (2012), and Pampa Blues (2014).
