Lyne Fortin impresses with her vocal flexibility and style

Handel: AGRIPPINA, L'alma mia fra le tempeste & Ogni vento ch'al porto, Montreal 2005

THE SONGBIRD: Canadian soprano Lyne Fortin was born in Quebec in 1962. After attaining her music degree from Laval University in 1985, she was a prize winner in several competitions and made her debut as Susanna in Quebec in 1987. She followed with the company as Gilda and Pamina. She was Norina with the Philadelphia Opera, and sang Antonia and Hanna Glawari in Montreal. Other lyric-coloratura roles include Adina, Leila, Juliette, Ginevra, Manon, Thais, Fiordiligi, Rosalinda, Violetta, and Olympia. Dramatic roles have included Elettra, Lady MacBeth, Donna Anna, Tosca, Verdi's Leonora, Madame Lidoine, and Carmen. She was Madame de Tourvel in the world premiere of Piet Swerts's opera of "Les Liaisons dangereuses" (that's the Michelle Pfeiffer role in the Hollywood film).

THE MUSIC: “Agrippina” was Handel's second Italian opera, composed for the Venice Carnevale season where it premiered in 1709. It had a very successful run and occasional productions emerged in the following years, but it fell out of fashion, along with most of Handel's operas, in the mid-18th century. “Agrippina” was revived in the 20th century and now the work is more prevalent on stages and recordings, including a production at Metropolitan Opera in 2020, which is only the fifth Handel opera staged there in its 120 year history (the others were “Rinaldo,” “Samson,” “Giulio Cesare,” and “Rodelinda”). The opera focuses on how Agrippina connives to install her son Nero as the emperor of Rome -- a baroque diva turn to be sure. Here are two virtuosic arias showing the woman's confidence: "L'alma mia" introduces the character with a rapid-fire, bravura stance and "Ogni vento ch'al porto" catches her at the end of the second act in a good mood as her nefarious plan seems to falling into place.

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