The 2020-2021 winners for the second edition of the $50,000 Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes announced today in Montreal will create three new original Canadian operas to be premiered 2021, in a staged co-production with Toronto’s award-winning independent opera company Opera 5, Montreal’s Opera McGill, Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), and Kingston’s Queen’s University Dan School of Music. Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes is awarded to teams of emerging Canadian women-identifying opera composers and librettists who demonstrate extraordinary promise in opera creation.

 Winners 2020-2021 Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes 

Anna Pidgorna, composer (New Westminster BC) and Maria Reva, librettist (New Westminster BC)

Parisa Sabet, composer (Toronto) and Nika Khanjani, librettist (Montreal) 

Sonia Paço-Rocchia, composer (Laurentides QC) and Marie-Ève Bouchard, librettist (Saint-Jérôme QC)

The prizes will be presented on Sept. 16^th, 2020, 6:00 pm, at the Mécénat Musica Gala, Chapelle historique du Bon Pasteur.

ABOUT MÉCÉNAT MUSICA PRIX 3 FEMMES

Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes is an initiative by Montreal’s Musique 3 Femmes and Mécénat Musica dedicated to developing new operas by emerging women-identifying Canadian creators. The biennial award supports emerging composers and librettists through seed funding for new works, mentorship with industry professionals, travel stipends, musical & staging workshops for the creations, and over 200 hours of rehearsal and development time with professional musicians. The 2020-21 jury comprised of composers Laura Kaminsky and Dean Burry, conductor Véronique Lacroix (ECM+), conductor and director Patrick Hansen (Opera McGill), and artistic director Jessica Derventzis (Opera 5).

ABOUT MUSIQUE 3 FEMMES

Musique 3 Femmes (M3F) is a non-profit ensemble which is fostering the next generation of women-identifying opera creators in Canada. Founded in 2018 by soprano Suzanne Rigden, mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff and pianist Jennifer Szeto, Musique 3 Femmes recognizes the need for better representation of women’s voices in the creative leadership of opera. In 2020, Musique 3 Femmes welcomes Toronto-based soprano Rachel Krehm.

ABOUT MÉCÉNAT MUSICA

Mécénat Musica is a cultural program created by donors for donors. Mécénat Musica encourages individuals to make an in-perpetuity donation of $25,000 to a cultural organization important to them, and encourages philanthropic families to match these individuals’ donations with donations of $250,000 or $2,500,000. This is a major shift in cultural philanthropy.