A soprano with exquisite tone, a performer with charismatic stage presence an inspiring vocal teacher, Lambroula Pappas is all these things and more!
Image: Lambroula as The Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen
[photo by Robert Teoh]
Place des Arts is fortunate to have someone as skilled as Lambroula on our music faculty. She has been teaching voice here for eight years and has inspired countless students in their quest for vocal prowess.
Next month, Lambroula and her guest pianist Matthew Ma will perform Bernstein, Beach and Beyond, a concert of gorgeous music from the American Classical songbook. In advance, we thought you might like to learn a bit about Lambroula and what you can expect from the concert.
Education and Career
Lambroula studied music at UBC, earning her Master of Music in Opera. As a performer, she is acclaimed for her charisma and exquisite tone and has impressed and delighted audiences around the world with her extraordinary blend of shimmering voice, powerful stage presence and sparkling lyricism.
Feeling Welcome and at Home
Lambroula loves teaching at Place des Arts and says she always feels at home and very comfortable here. “It’s such a great atmosphere here, but it’s the people—my students, their parents, the ladies at the registration desk, the staff—who are all so lovely and make Place des Arts feel so welcoming.”
Lambroula’s kids love Place des Arts too and attend our Summer Fun! Art camps each year. “They love it,” says Lambroula. “I still have one of the first artworks my son Yianni made on my wall. He made it when he was in grade one and he’s in grade four now,” she says.
The Rewards of Teaching
Amongst the many students Lambroula has fostered, one in particular stands out. “I was subbing for another teacher, Gina Oh,” she says, “and I met a young girl, Brooklyn White. When I heard her sing, I knew she had something special.” Eventually, Lambroula took over for Gina and continued to teach Brooklyn.
Brooklyn was very shy but had a beautiful voice. Lambroula says, “Through the years, Brooklyn blossomed into an amazing singer. She’s won countless awards, both locally and provincially, and has been asked to sing the National Anthem at many sporting events. To see how someone can grow from such a shy, timid girl into a confident expressive artist is incredibly rewarding.”
Fake it ‘til You Make it!
One of Lambroula’s favourite performance memories was a time when she was singing in La Fille du Regiment, an opéra comique by Gaetano Donizetti. She says, “I totally forgot the next word I had to sing. It was on a very high note, and I just sang the first word that came to mind, which was ‘fromage’ (cheese)! The singer playing Tonio started laughing, then I started laughing, and we laughed through the entire duet plus the next one. After the show, people kept saying what a joyous performance it was!”
She says, “I tell my students this story to let them know that if they can’t remember words or lines or make some other mistake during a performance, the best thing to do is fake it ‘til you make it! No one will know, and you’ll come across looking like you’ve got it all under control.”
Bernstein, Beach and Beyond Concert
About the Bernstein, Beach and Beyond concert, Lambroula says, “It’s going to be a pretty night – an evening of music people will truly enjoy and that they don’t get to hear often. Matthew is an extraordinary pianist and our repertoire is truly gorgeous.”
The concert program includes songs and cycles by American composers such as Amy Beach, Aaron Copeland and Samuel Barber, as well as arias from operas such as Porgy and Bess, Susannah and The Ballad of Baby Doe.
“We’ll present some fun music, some more serious songs, and there will even be a little puppetry involved!” says Lambroula. One song cycle that she is particularly excited to perform is Try Me Good King by Libby Larsen, the lyrics of which are the last words of the Wives of King Henry VIII. Doesn’t that sound intriguing?!
Concert Tickets
Tickets are $21 for adults and $16 for students (+ GST) and are available at brownpapertickets.com. For more information about the concert or about purchasing tickets, call our registration desk at 604.664.1636.