On Monday, July 25th 2011 in Stratford, Ont. there were celebrations to mark the life of, and pay tribute to, one of Canada's finest artists, opera contralto Maureen Forrester. Forrester, who died a little over a year ago on June 16 of 2010, was an internationally known singer who worked with the greatest conductors of her time. The day also marked her 81st birthday.
Those in attendance to perform and pay tribute to her with words, read like a who's who of Canadian Opera and arts including Jean Stilwell, R. Murray Schafer and Zubin Mehta - the latter two by video hook-up - Allyson Mchardy, Kristina Szabo, Kimberly Barber, Mary Lou Fallis and Catherine Robbin. All 5 of her children were also there, Paula Berton, Gina Dineen, Daniel Kash, Linda Kash and Susan Whaley.
Other speakers and stars on hand included music critic William Littler from the Toronto Star, Stuart Hamilton of Toronto's Opera in Concert series, Karen Kain, opera choreographer Brian MacDonald and Stratford Summer Music Festival artistic producer John Miller.
Forrester Born Poor and Died Famous
Forrester was born in a poor section of east Montreal in1930 to working class parents during a hard time for North America. The youngest of four was not brought into life with the pedigree most operatic contraltos are afforded but possessed from the start a larger than life personality and never backed away from a challenge.
She began to sing at church, on the burgeoning media of radio and in choirs. Forced to drop out of school in Grade 9 due to a teacher shortage caused by World War 2, she never did complete her education. She worked at many jobs, including using her voice as an operator for Bell Telephone.
After studying with Bernard Diamant, a Dutch-Canadian baritone she performed her recital debut at the YMCA in 1953. She rose to fame quickly thereafter, forever garnering great reviews and fresh opportunity. Soon she had her debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra – Beethoven’s ninth – under Otto Klemperer. In 1956 she made her New York debut in the historic Town Hall.
Bruno Walter and Leonard Bernstein
Maureen Forrester developed a strong life-long working relationship with pianist John Newmark and one of the great conductors of that time, Bruno Walter. Her first European tour came at 25 and she was soon performing with the big orchestras of the time in North America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. She worked with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Herbert Von Karajan, Eugene Ormandy, Andrew Davis, Raymond Leppard and Seiji Ozawa.
Throughout her career Maureen Forrester performed dozens of opera roles and made dozens of recordings, some considered the best of her time. Recordings included Symphony No. 2 with the New York Philharmonic, with Walter conducting, and the Song of the Earth for conductor Mario Bernardi. She was well-noted for singing Mahler.
The Stratford tribute for her, 'A Serenade for Maureen Forrester' included video exerts from her career, spoken remembrances by family, friends and many of her colleagues and live performances. Forrester was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1967.
References:
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, Cbc.ca (Famed Contralto Maureen Forrester Dies and Stratford Plans Celebration of Maureen Forrester), The Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette.
Join the Conversation