Hugo Laporte
baryton
'' Sumptuous voice, elegance of phrasing, supreme musical intelligence ''
– Avant-Scène Opéra
'' the baritone's voice is meaty and gorgeous ''
– Le Soleil
'' ... always vocally impeccable ''
– Opera Canada
Biography
Acclaimed for his elegant singing, his velvety timbre and his outstanding stage presence, young french-Canadian baritone Hugo Laporte regularly performs around Canada, Europe and Asia. He received awards in several competitions, including the "Teatro alla Scala" prize at Belvedere competition in Austria, Grand prize of OSM Manuvie Competition, 1st prize at Canadian Music Competition, 3rd prize at Prix d’Europe and 3rd prize art song at Marmande competition. As the “Young canadian opera hope 2015” award winner, he was offered several grants and engagements by the International opera program "Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques".
He will make his debut at Milan's Teatro alla Scala in March 2023 in the roles of Hermann \ Schlemil (Les contes d'Hoffmann) alongside Vittorio Grigolo and Luca Pisaroni, under the baton of Frédéric Chaslin.
Despite numerous cancelled engagements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Laporte stays remarkably active on stage. Notably as Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and Belcore (L'Elisir d'amore) at Opéra de Québec, Jerry (Yourcenar - une île de passions / E. Champagne) with Les Violons du Roy, Opéra de Montréal and Opéra de Québec, Mozart’s « Great Mass » conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Escamillo (Carmen) with Orchestre Classique de Montréal, Rossini's Petite messe solennelle at Festival Classica and several gala-concerts, recitals and concerts at festivals around Canada. He also takes part in the complete recoring of Massenet’s mélodies with the record label ATMA, alongside several world-renowned artists such as Marie- Nicole Lemieux.
In addition to these recent roles, Laporte also performed in 2020 the title role of The Phantom of the Opera – in French at Montreal’s Théâtre St-Denis and Grand Théâtre de Québec, and the Prosecutor (Another Brick in the Wall) at Toronto’s Meridian Hall. He will soon return to Opéra de Québec, Opéra de Montréal and other Canadian theatres in several main roles soon to be announced.
In 2018/19, he sang on Opéra de Québec’s stage where he offered an unequivocal “top-class” Albert (Werther). Also in 2018, he portrayed a “majestic” Phantom (The Phantom of the Opera – in French) in Montreal, and made two house debuts with his highly-praised Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette) at Opéra de Montréal and Schaunard (La Bohème) with Opera de Massy, France.
In past seasons, he portrayed several roles, notably Figaro (Barber of Seville) and Escamillo (Carmen) at Société d'Art Lyrique de Royaume, Morales/Dancairo (Carmen) at Theater Regensburg and OSM and Riff (West Side Story – concert). He performed in the past with Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, Moscow’s Helikon-Opera, Minsk National Opera Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Québec Orchestre Symphonique de Sherbrooke, National Arts Center Orchestra and Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra; in venues such as Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Shanghai Daning Theater, Qingdao Grand Theater, Baotou Grand Theater; and festivals such as Festival de Lanaudière, OSM Classical spree, Montreal Bach Festival, Festival d’Opéra de Québec, and Festival Orford.
In addition to opera, he frequently performs in sacred works such as Fauré’s Requiem, Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, Duruflé’s Requiem, J.S. Bach's St Matthew’s Passion, Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle, Gounod’s Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cécile, and G. Finzi’s In Terra Pax.
Laporte holds a master’s degree with honors in Music (Vocal studies) at Université Laval, Québec. He studied with soprano Patricia Fournier, and also trained with several renowned teachers such as Ghinka Radilova, Antonio Carangelo, Benita Valente and Jean-François Lapointe. He wants to sincerely thank La Relève Musicale de Québec for their support during his studies, and "Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques" international opera program for supporting his career.
Reviews
Le Soleil, Emmanuel Bernier Malatesta (Don Pasquale, Opéra de Québec, octobre 2022)
" Hugo Laporte's Belcore soars to the top: sumptuous voice, elegance of phrasing, supreme musical intelligence. He also manages to eloquently translate the sergeant's amusing fatuity " [Translation]Avant Scène Opéra, Louis Bilodeau Belcore (L’elisir d’amore, Opéra de Québec, october 2021)
" Hugo Laporte, always vocally impeccable, showed great comic flair in the role of Belcore " [Translation]Opera Canada, Irène Brisson Belcore (L’elisir d’amore, Opéra de Québec, october 2021)
" Shines Hugo Laporte's blazing Mercutio, whose Ballad of Queen Mab is a model of elegance. To perfect diction, he joins the elegance of the style, and pure beauty of sound, qualities that we also hear in his duel with Tybalt, and his death. " [Translation]Avant Scène Opéra, Louis Bilodeau Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette, Opéra de Montréal, may 2018)
" Immediately, the prodigious baritone Hugo Laporte fills the entire stage with his charisma: powerful voice, convincing acting, instantaneous connection with the audience " [Translation]
L’Opéra: Revue québécoise d’art lyrique, Bernard Côté
Concert at FestivalOpéra de St-Eustache
" Tremendous cast [...] Hugo Laporte is exceptional as Phantom. His powerful and solid voice, as well as his convincing acting portrays a mysterious, scary but tender maestro. " [Translation]
Musical Avenue, Nathalie Katinakis
Phantom (Phantom of the Opera, Orchestre de la francophonie, july 2018
" Laporte shows a nice homogeneity thoughout his register, high notes keeping their full baritonal color. Quality of french vowels is also one of his strengths " [Translation]
Ludwig van Montréal, Samuel Croteau
Albert (Werther, Opéra de Québec, october 2018)
" A worthy contribution from Quebec [...] Impeccable also, choosing Hugo Laporte for these songs, since the baritone distinguishes himself by his warm tone, noble singing (Noël Nouvelet), never stilted, and above all, an excellent pronunciation"
Le Devoir, Christophe Huss
Euroradio Christmas concert (december 2018)
" Hugo Laporte is a top-class Albert, with an elegant, rich and perfectly homogeneous baritone voice " [Translation]
Avant Scène Opéra, Louis Bilodeau
Albert (Werther, Opéra de Québec, october 2018)
" Brilliant performance by baritone Hugo Laporte. He offers a nuanced portrayal of Charlotte's husband, with a warm and rich voice " [Translation]
Bachtrack, Emmanuel Bernier
Albert (Werther, Opéra de Québec, october 2018)
Next performances
Teatro alla Scala – Les contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach) | Schlemil / Hermann
March 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 28 | 31 2023
www.teatroallascala.org
Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières – La Bohème (Puccini) | Marcello
April 15 2023 - 20:00
J.-Antonio-Thompson Hall
www.ostr.ca
Opéra de Montréal – Madama Butterfly (Puccini) | Sharpless
May 6 | 9 | 11 | 16 2023 – 19:30
May 14 2023 14:00
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
www.operademontreal.com
Les Rhapsodes – Dvorak: Messe en ré majeur, Te Deum
May 27 2023 – 19:30
Palais Montcalm, Québec
www.lesrhapsodes.com
Orchestre Classique de Montréal – Orff: Carmina Burana
20 juin 2023 – 20:00
Maison Symphonique, Montréal
www.orchestre.ca
Opéra de Montréal – Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart) | Conte d’Almaviva
23 | 26 | 28 sept 2023 – 19:30
1 october 2023 14:00
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
www.operademontreal.com
Les Rhapsodes – Orff: Carmina Burana
23 mars 2024 – 19:30
Palais Montcalm, Québec
www.lesrhapsodes.com
Recordings
Massenet: Complete Songs for Voice and Piano
Released in november 2022 - ATMA Classique
Artists: Anna-Sophie Neher, Antoine Bareil, Antoine Bélanger, Antonio Figueroa, David Jacques, Emmanuel Hasler, Éric Laporte, Florence Bourget, Frédéric Antoun, Hugo Laporte, Jean Marchand, Jean-François Lapointe, Joé Lampron-Dandonneau, Julie Boulianne, Karina Gauvin, Magali Simard-Galdès, Marc Boucher, Marie-Ève Pelletier, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Michèle Losier, Olivier Godin, Sophie Naubert, Stéphane Tétreault, Valérie Milot
Contact
General management
Dr. Marcus Felsner
Maximilianstrasse 2
80539 München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 20 500 85624
marcus@felsnerartists.com
www.felsnerartists.com