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Karina GauvinCanadian opera singer (soprano)
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Biography of Karina Gauvin
Karina Gauvin, a Canadian opera singer (soprano), was born in Repentigny, Quebec. She was the youngest of three children. At the age of eight, Gauvin joined the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus with the help of her mother, Lucie Gauvin. Over the next eight years, she performed in numerous concerts and operas, including "Tosca" and "Wozzeck".

As a teenager, Gauvin deepened her vocal skills with mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin in Toronto. She then returned to Montreal and enrolled at McGill University, specializing in musicology. During this time, Gauvin sang in the university choir, led by Nicole Paiement. Paiement convinced Gauvin to pursue a singing career, leading her to leave university and join the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, studying under Marie Daveluy. Later, Gauvin continued her studies in Glasgow at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with contralto Pamela Bowden.

Professional Career
Gauvin made her professional debut at the Glimmerglass Opera. She won first prize in the national CBC Radio Competition and was awarded the Virginia Parker Prize for excellence in academic music. Her repertoire ranges from Johann Sebastian Bach to Luciano Berio. Gauvin has performed with esteemed orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many more. She has worked under the direction of renowned conductors, including Charles Dutoit, Kent Nagano, Semyon Bichkov, Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, and Alan Curtis.

Gauvin has also appeared as a soloist in various chamber music ensembles and collaborated with pianists such as Marc-André Hamelin, Michael McMahon, and Roger Vignoles. She has released nineteen recordings and has been nominated multiple times for the Juno Awards, a prestigious Canadian music award. Her collection of French art songs, recorded with Hamelin under the title "Fête galante," won the Opus Award for Best Vocal Recording in 2000 and was hailed as the "Recording of the Year" by Chamber Music America.
Gauvin's latest solo album, featuring her own songs, was released on the Atma label and received critical acclaim. In 2009, she planned to record Benjamin Britten's "Les Illuminations" with the Franco-Canadian chamber orchestra "Les Violons du Roy" for the same label. She has also made notable recordings with the classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, including Handel's operas "Tolomeo," "Alcina," "Ezio," and "Agrippina" with Alan Curtis and the ensemble "Complesso Barocco."
Gauvin's lush timbre, deep musical experience, and wide vocal range have impressed audiences and critics worldwide. The Globe and Mail described her as the "soprano dream of our time," an extraordinary, refined, deeply intuitive, enigmatic, and fearless artist.