Julie Boulianne is a Quebec-born mezzo-soprano, acclaimed for the agility and expressiveness of her rich tone across a wide repertoire, with a particular affinity for the music of Mozart, Rossini, and Berlioz.
“One is first surprised that such a petite person can produce a voice so even in volume and color… every note is perfectly placed; never does one sense any strain. In such hands, one can surrender to pure interpretation. Yesterday, as I listened to her, I cried. Such a reaction never deceives me.” — Claude Gingras, La Presse
During the 2016–2017 season, Julie Boulianne made her debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in the world premiere of Philippe Boesmans’ Pinocchio, returned to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, debuted at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse as Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict, performed as Cenerentola at the Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, and sang Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Opéra de Québec. Her recital and symphonic appearances included Le Poème de l’amour et de la mer by Chausson and Beethoven’s Egmont incidental music with the Bamberg Symphony, as well as recitals at the Tuesday Music Club of San Antonio and in Quebec.
In recent seasons, she performed at the Royal Opera House in London as Aloès in Chabrier’s L’Étoile, at the Zurich Opera House as Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito under Ottavio Dantone, at the BBC Proms in Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette, at the Opéra de Lyon as Robin-Luron in Offenbach’s Le Roi Carotte, and at Opéra d’Angers-Nantes as Concepción in L’Heure Espagnole. Her concert appearances include Roméo et Juliette by Berlioz with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Gulbenkian Música in Lisbon, Les Nuits d’été by Berlioz with the Fort Worth Symphony, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Indianapolis Symphony, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.
In 2014–2015, Julie made her debut with the Dutch National Opera as Aloès in L’Étoile by Chabrier. She sang Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and Marguerite in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse at the San Sebastián Music Festival, alongside Bryan Hymel. Julie returned to the Vancouver Opera as Prince Orlofsky in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and made her debut with the New Orleans Opera as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. She also debuted in South America as Charlotte in Werther at the Ópera de Colombia in Bogotá. Her concert appearances included debuts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, with the San Francisco Symphony in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, and in Honegger and Ibert’s L’Aiglon with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal conducted by Kent Nagano, in Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, and in Mozart’s Requiem with the San Antonio Symphony, under Sebastian Lang-Lessing.
In previous seasons, Julie appeared several times at the Metropolitan Opera, performing Siébel in Faust, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette under Plácido Domingo, Diane in Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Iphigénie en Tauride conducted by Patrick Summers, the Kitchen Boy in Rusalka alongside Renée Fleming, and Ascanio in Les Troyens under Fabio Luisi. She also sang Miranda in Robert Lepage’s production of The Tempest by Thomas Adès, conducted by the composer, at the Quebec Opera Festival. Past roles include Lazuli in L’Étoile by Chabrier at the New York City Opera, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro at Vancouver Opera and Opéra de Montréal, the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon at both the Opéra de Montréal and Opéra de Marseille, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Minnesota Opera, Opéra de Montréal, and with the Orlando Philharmonic, the title role in La Cenerentola at the Aspen Opera Theater, Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Pacific Opera Victoria, and Fragoletto in Offenbach’s Les Brigands at the Opéra de Toulon and Opéra Comique de Paris.
In concert, Julie has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra in The Cunning Little Vixen under Franz Welser-Möst, with Charles Dutoit and the Boston Symphony in L’enfant et les Sortilèges, with the Baltimore Symphony in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream under Marin Alsop, at the Saito Kinen Festival in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Lincoln Center. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s under Sir Roger Norrington, Handel’s Messiah with the Colorado Symphony, and Haydn’s Theresienmesse with Les Violons du Roy. She returned to the Quebec Opera Festival as Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust by Berlioz. Other performances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Orchestra Iowa, St. Matthew Passion with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Pinchas Zukerman at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Shéhérazade by Ravel with Emmanuel Villaume and the Utah Symphony, Les Nuits d’été with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain, Messiah and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Atlanta Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Calgary Philharmonic, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Cincinnati Symphony, in addition to frequent invitations from the Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roy.
In March 2009, Naxos released a recording of Shéhérazade and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges featuring Julie Boulianne and the Nashville Symphony, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album. Julie can also be heard on the ATMA Classique album Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder. In 2014, she released Handel and Porpora – The London Years with harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour on the Analekta label, which received nominations for both the Juno Awards and the International Classical Music Awards.
Julie is a graduate of The Juilliard School in New York and the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. She is the recipient of First Prize at both the Canadian Music Competition and the Joy of Singing Competition in New York. In 2007, she received the Silverman Prize from the International Vocal Arts Institute and the Chamber of Directors Award at the Concours International de Chant de Montréal.
