Lara Secord-Haid is a versatile singing artist with a rich artistic practice. Her work as an opera and classical singing artist has been praised for its “impassioned strength” (Classical Scene) and for being “capable of the highest flights of coloratura and possessing a rich and expressive overall quality” (Attencion San Miguel). Lara explores a wide range of classically informed music, from the antique to contemporary. Beyond the traditional and avant-garde, she has immersed herself in the captivating world of Sephardic music. This love resonates through her commission and performance of new works within this genre.

This season, Lara performs Erwachen, an evocative work about climate change and human bewilderment at the force of our nature and denial by Alexander Liebermann, with musicians from Orchester des Wandels in the Braunschweiger Dom. She also takes the stage as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss and later as Blanche de la Force in Les Dialogue des Carmelites by Francis Poulenc with MusikfürMusik Künstler collaborative in Berlin. She will revive her recital program, All Mute Things Speak, which she curated through an intensive search for music and poetry in Hebrew and Ladino and through commissions of new and adapted works made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts with pianist Daniel Seroussi also in Berlin. Lara will premiere her Sephardic song project, performing two new song cycles entitled Shir Hashirim and Canciones Sefarad by composer Sid Robinovitch in a brand-new orchestration by Tad Biernacki with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. She will also appear as Frasquita in Carmen with Manitoba Opera and performs a recital program featuring the works of Richard Strauss with pianist Michael Oike presented by The Little Opera Company in Winnipeg.

Lara’s operatic highlights include Governess in The Turn of the Screw at Nashville Opera; Micaëla in La Tragedie de Carmen with City Lyric Opera, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Manhattan Opera Studio; Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, Manhattan Opera Studio; Cendrillon in Cendrillon, New York Lyric Opera; Sophie in Werther, Manitoba Opera; Cendrillon in Cendrillon, New York Lyric Opera; Marzelline in Fidelio, Manitoba Opera; Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Opera on the Avalon; Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario for North Shore Music Festival, Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Opera on the Avalon; Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Banff opera as Theatre; Giulia in La Scala di Seta, Juilliard opera; the Woodpecker in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Juilliard opera; Marsinah in Kismet, Little Opera Winnipeg; Loon Returns: An environmental operetta by Daniel Janke, The Longest Night Society; Jessie Anderson in the new opera No One’s Safe by Lizée and Ivany; Silent Light by composer Paola Prestini and librettist Royce Vavrek.

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