Maureen Batt Soprano – Maureen Batt is an accomplished Canadian opera and concert singer

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Meet Maureen

Maureen Batt (she/her) is a recording artist, artistic director, and educator. Maureen’s career focuses on celebrating music by living composers through her opera company Essential Opera, her concert series Crossing Borders, and her award-winning discography.

Her discography with her label Leaf Music includes 2-time ECMA-winning Lighthouse (with Grej), a journey of grief told through a love story, fusing classical and electronic genres; JUNO-nominated Breathing in the Shadows featuring works by Saman Shahi, with Tara Scott, piano; Aunt Helen, a one-act opera by Monica Pearce about Dr. Helen Creighton, with Simon Docking, piano; Mirror, Mirror, a one-act opera by Anna Pidgorna about the Grimm fairy tale Snow White, with Erin Bardua, soprano; and Lady of the Lake with song cycles by Franz Schubert and Fiona Ryan based on Sir Walter Scott’s texts, with Simon Docking, piano; Durme, Durme: Four Ladino Folk Songs, a song cycle by Elisha Denburg, with Tara Scott, piano. Her recent EPs are releases by Essential Opera—two operas by Monica Pearce: Etiquette, about Dorothy Parker’s 1927 review of Emily Post’s book Etiquette, and December, a queer holiday romcom. Her current release is Essential Opera’s debut full-length album Some of My Stories: The Operas of Monica Pearce.

Applauded for her “rich, warm sound and masterful acting” (Opera Canada), Maureen has created many Canadian opera roles. She is the co-artistic director of Essential Opera (founded in 2010 with Erin Bardua). In 2015, Maureen founded Crossing Borders, a contemporary Western art music recital series which has toured the United States, Canada, and Colombia.

Maureen was a regular on faculty at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival as voice coach. Maureen teaches voice, offers voice and movement workshops (playshops) online, and is a frequent music festival adjudicator. As an educator, Maureen invites people to explore their singing through the lens of wholeness, embodied play, curiosity, and compassion. Head here to read more about working with Maureen when she’s not on stage.

Her projects have received support from the SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, SSHRC, FACTOR, Music Nova Scotia, and Arts Nova Scotia. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Music Centre. Maureen has an MMus from the University of Toronto, a BMus from Dalhousie University, and a BA from St. Thomas University.

Please contact Maureen for an updated bio for any purpose.

Essential Opera

Essential Opera is based in Atlantic Canada, founded in 2010 by co-artistic directors Erin Bardua and Maureen Batt. Highlights of our company’s history include signing with classical label Leaf Music, EPs and short films, showcasing at JUNOfest and the ECMAs, co-productions with highly respected festivals and organizations, and a series of projects addressing issues of Equity & Belonging in opera. Our projects, commissions, and performances have been supported by SOCAN, Arts Nova Scotia, Music Nova Scotia, Arts New Brunswick, Music New Brunswick, the Ontario Arts Council, FACTOR, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Our 15th anniversary is marked by milestone projects including a full-length debut album of operas by Monica Pearce, Some of my Stories: The Operas of Monica Pearce, a new work in development with composer-librettist Fiona Ryan called “In Her Hands: The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth”, and more films! Our EP “Etiquette” earned Monica Pearce an ECMA nomination for Classical Composer of the Year in 2024.

EO is one of a very small number of East Coast opera organizations commissioning, presenting, and championing recently commissioned works by living composers, especially those from typically excluded groups. We have always believed new compositions are inherently “essential”. Opera is a living art form; what we do and how we do it has to respond to the world in which we’re producing it.

Crossing Borders

Crossing Borders is a dynamic concert series that creates a dialogue among contemporary compositional voices from Canada and abroad. This series explores the similarities and differences between Canadian and other voices by presenting the pieces in conversation with one another. It is one of my mandates with this concert series to actively engage with my global creative community. Please feel free to be in touch if you want to talk about collaborating.

Recent projects: Five Formosa Songs by Chia Yin Wu and Caroline’s Sweeper by Michael Donovan. Past projects: Saman Shahi’s JUNO-nominated Breathing in the Shadows, Elisha Denburg’s Four Ladino Folk Songs, Amy Brandon’s Vertical Labyrinth with the Halifax Camerata Singers, and Crossing Borders: Shifting the Lens, with Fabián Arciniegas, Claire Harris, and Tara Scott.

Diva Station

Diva Station trio debuted April 2019 at Neptune Theatre with their show “Songs Through the Ages”. This Halifax trio features Laura Caswell (Neptune Theatre, Eastern Front, Drayton); Merritt award winner, Sarah Richardson (Whale Song Theatre, The Black Rats); Maureen Batt (Opera Nova Scotia, Essential Opera).

Known for their vivaciousness and versatility, Diva Station boasts a repertoire that fuses Broadway, Rock n’ Roll, and opera. Whether in striking three-part harmonies, or in solo form, these women will take you to angelic heights and soulful depths. Get in touch via the contact page if you want to book us for a show.

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Lighthouse

Lighthouse is a visually and sonically rich immersive experience that touches on themes of loss, love, and hope. It’s a journey that explores the tides of grief seamlessly weaving classical, electronic, and pop genres. Gregory Harrison (Grej) “percussion & electronics wizard” (NPR Music) and Maureen Batt “captivating soprano” (Opera Canada) are the artistic forces behind LIGHTHOUSE.

For the live production, Maureen and Grej are joined by East Coast luminaries Tania Breen and Michael Doherty.

LIGHTHOUSE is for anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close. It honours, it remembers, it celebrates.

Maureen Batt

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