The American Songbook

Praised for her “full, gleaming sound” (Chicago Tribune), Canadian soprano Tracy Cantin “has it all — agility, power, and dazzling coloratura” (Chicago Sun-Times). A graduate of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s esteemed Ryan Opera Center, Cantin was featured with the company in performances of Wagner’s Parsifal, Verdi’s Rigoletto, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, and most notably as the title character in Donizetti’s tour de force Anna Bolena.

Particularly sought after for her dynamic interpretations of some of the genre’s most demanding roles, Cantin recently made a surprise debut as Lady Macbeth at the Canadian Opera Company in Sir David McVicar’s award-winning production of Verdi’s Macbeth, starring alongside Quinn Kelsey as Macbeth, and conducted by Speranza Scappucci. She has also been seen with the company in Strauss’s Elektra, as well as the title character in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. Cantin has also lent her vocal prowess to Calgary Opera, joining them for Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, and to Opera West for Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, marking two significant role debuts for the soprano. She continued this streak of debuts in the 2024–2025 season, returning to Pacific Opera Victoria as Vitellia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, performing with the Chicago Opera Theatre for Bohème and Beyond, and most recently joining the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for Beethoven’s epic masterpiece Missa Solemnis at the famed Roy Thomson Hall.

Equally at home on the concert stage, recent performances include her debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony under Thomas Dausgaard in Bernstein’s Songfest, Verdi’s Requiem with the Okanagan Symphony, and the final scene in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung for both the Vancouver Symphony and the National Symphony of Costa Rica. She has also frequently been heard as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, which introduced her to Australian audiences with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra alongside Sir Bryn Terfel, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

The Prince Edward Island native has shared the stage with internationally renowned artists including Renée Fleming, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Goerke, Joyce DiDonato, Susan Graham, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Eric Owens, and Ana Maria Martínez, and has been featured by the Ravinia Festival, Grant Park Festival, Oregon Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Sir Andrew Davis (Beethoven 9, La Bohème, Le nozze di Figaro), Riccardo Muti (La traviata), Michele Mariotti (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Vlad Iftinca (The Turn of the Screw), Bertrand de Billy (Otello), Sir David McVicar (Elektra, Rusalka, Macbeth), Michael Cavanagh (Elektra, Anna Bolena, Fidelio), and John Caird (Parsifal) are among the world-renowned conductors and stage directors with whom she has collaborated.

Cantin is the first prize winner in Canada’s prestigious Lois Marshall Memorial Competition and has received top awards from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Voice Competition, the Sullivan Foundation, and Alberta’s Emerging Artist Fund. The Metropolitan Opera National Semi-Finalist holds degrees from McGill University, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Alberta.