Alumni Spotlight – Laura Brandt

Laura Brandt was Parasha in MYOpera’s Triple Bill, April 2013.

Laura Brandt as Parasha in MYOpera’s Triple Bill, April 2013

Where are you from? I’m originally from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

Where do you currently live? I’m currently a member of the emerging artists at Calgary opera and living there.

What’s your favourite MYOpera memory? Favorite MYOpera memory is doing our performances together at the Crescent School!

What role did MYOpera play in your career/life? MYOpera helped keep me busy and gave me a project to focus on during one of those scary transitional times after grad school. I was also new to Toronto and it helped me to connect with other artists in the city!

What have you been doing since MYOpera? Since MYOpera I’ve been an emerging artist with Calgary Opera. It’s been an awesome opportunity to learn from the great singers, conductors, and directors who come through, and continue to build my skills and repertoire. I’ll be making my mainstage debut with them this spring as Frasquita in Carmen.

What’s your favourite opera (to watch/listen to)? Favorite opera has to be one of the hardest questions. One of my top two is definitely Salome, and then I love watching Traviata. Last season Calgary Opera did Der Fliegende Holländer and that also became an unexpected favorite.

What’s your guilty pleasure song (any genre)? Right now I’m obsessed with watching the video for Blank Space by Taylor Swift

Traveling is always an adventure! What’s your favourite/most memorable travel experience? Maybe not the best memory but certainly most memorable was when I was doing a summer program in Italy and ended up in hospital with an infection…. I learned so many weird Italian words trying to describe my symptoms and find the right medication. I wrote postcards from a wheelchair while hooked up to an IV. I felt completely nauseous and was writing stuff like ‘having a great time in Italy’

Do you have a signature dish/meal that you make? Tell us about it! Umm I make really good jambalaya? I’m trying to become a better home cook all the time!

Singers/Artists are busy people! What’s your favourite snack when you’re on the go? I try to drink lots of water, my guilty pleasure snack is chips!

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