By June Coxon
Award winning opera singer and Alta Vista resident Maria Knapik
stared in a locally produced opera last month. She was Floria Tosca
in Puccini’s TOSCA.
The performance, produced under the patronage of the Embassy of the
Republic of Poland and the Embassy of the Italian Republic, took place at
Dominion-Chalmers United Church in downtown Ottawa, on March 10 and
The production was directed by Vincent Thomas while Michel Brousseau
was the music director. Other cast members included tenor Steve Michaud as
Mario Cavaradossi – Knapik’s romantic counterpart – and Canadian/British
baritone Jeffrey Carl who played the manipulative Baron Scarpia.
Knapik and her Canadian-born husband, Richard, have lived in Alta Vista
for about 10 years. During that time she has performed as a soloist with major
orchestras and opera companies throughout North America and Europe.
Maria Knapik’s next performances in Ottawa
On April 1 she and choirs from Ottawa, a string orchestra from Montreal
and other well-known artists will participate in a concert dedicated to the
memory of Pope Jean Paul 11. Sponsored by the Embassy of Poland and Archdiocese
of Ottawa, it will be presented at Notre Dame Basilica on the 12th
anniversary of the Pope’s death and Pope Jean Paul 11 Day in Canada which
was established by Parliament in 2014.
On May 3 she will be part of an all-day event “From Poland to Canada
with Love”. Presented by the Polish Embassy on the occasion of the Polish
National Day, it will celebrate the 226th anniversary of the first Polish Constitution
of May 3, 1791, as well as Canada’s 150th anniversary. The event will
be held at Ottawa’s Horticulture Building
Read the article where it was originally published (p.32) : https://vistas-news.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/VISTAS-April-2017.pdf
