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| "The sad girl (Shannon Mercer playing the part with loveliness and
grace) opened her mouth and sorrow billowed out. You had to feel for her." (Buffalo News, 14 April 2002) |
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| "It was the soprano who secured our interest in two declamatory
works by Monteverdi, transforming the conventional complaints of a woman betrayed into
statements of immediacy and expressive force...and a motet by Antoine de Boésset. The
latter proved to be a showcase for Mercer's technical qualifications." (Montreal Gazette, 25 February 2002) |
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| "Shannon Mercer has some affecting moments as her questing Rapunzel,
trying to win her place in the world, and showed some nice comic timing as Little Red on
her way to granny's. Mercer's soprano is direct, clear and unaffected." (The Globe and Mail, 15 May 2001) |
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| "Shannon Mercer is a sweet-voiced pleasure as Pomey's
son Sesto." (Now Magazine, 13 December 2001) |
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| "Shannon Mercer brought charisma and vocal agility to the role of
Sesto, son of the murdered general Pompey." (National Post, 7
December 2001) |
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| "Soprano Shannon Mercer has a lovely rich sound and power to
spare." (Classical 96.3, 4 December 2001) |
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| “Shannon Mercer (Sesto), a woman playing a boy who then
has to play a woman, has a bright, clear soprano and fine acting to bring off this
complicated role with panache.” (Stagedoor, December 2001) |
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“Shannon Mercer made every word tell, and sang in the tonal quality of a blushing
rose.” (Boston Globe, 17 August 2001) |
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| “Shannon Mercer has some affecting moments as her questing Rapunzel,
trying to win her place in the world, and showed some nice comic timing as Little Red on
her way to granny’s. Mercer’s soprano is direct, clear and unaffected.” (Globe and Mail, 15 May 2001) |
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| “...soprano Shannon Mercer gave a glowing, youthful interpretation
of the same composer’s (Strauss) Morgen.” (National Post,
19 February 2001) |
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| “Shannon Mercer was particularly outstanding with the soprano solos.
There was breathtaking beauty to the Benedictus as she sang it, and her contribution to
the various vocal ensembles was always solid and attractive.” (Ottawa
Citizen, 18 October 1999) |
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| “Shannon Mercer’s incarnation of Cleopatra was stylistically
and idiomatically irreproachable. Her performance was of rare musical distinction. With a
voice of crystalline purity and warmth of timbre, she offered a seductive and alluring
portrayal. If V’Adoro Pupille was of a rare sensuality then the sublime Piangero was
achingly drawn.” (Montreal Gazette, 30 November 1997) |
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| Reviews of Shannon's new release Mondonville with
Luc Beauséjour |
| "Soprano Shannon Mercer's career has moved up a few
notches lately. She stole the show as Despina in Cosi fan Tutte by Mozart in the
fall with the C.O.C. in Toronto. It's a bright, clean soprano voice and she's an
intelligent, witty and captivating actor." (Rick Phillips, Sound
Advice, 17 February 2007) |
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| "Young soprano Shannon Mercer has impressed Toronto
audiences in both recital and opera (most recently in the Canadian Opera Company's Così
fan tutte). Here, she shows off her rare combination of lyricism, technical agility
and dramatic power in nine pieces derived from Psalm texts by Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de
Mondonville." (Toronto Star, 1 March 2007) |
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| "Offering a luminous and important recording, Luc
Beauséjour, Shannon Mercer and Hélène Plouffe appropriate this world with great
intelligence. By exchanging constantly the role of principal and second, the musicians
interpret brilliantly the sonoric textures, revealing this aspect of style typical of the
research of the composer." (Le Soleil, 23 February 2007) |
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Reviews of Shannon's debut recording English Fancy
with Masques
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| "Shannon Mercer sings this aria and the disc's other fare with
chameleon-like gifts. Her soprano is bright and agile, and she uses vibrato and
ornamentation vividly to extract telling nuances from words and music. Mercer brings equal
expressive vibrancy to the amorous, hedonistic and sorrowful feelings in these delectable
pieces." (Gramophone, December 2005) |
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| "Soprano Shannon Mercer is splendid icing on a very lovely and tasty
cake. [Campion] is represented here by a number of his songs, elegantly and artfully
delivered by soprano Shannon Mercer, whose clear and unaffected singing is a delight to
the ear. The longer instrumental works are nicely interspersed by brief but lovely songs
performed to perfection by Ms. Mercer, making for an interesting variety of timbres and
moods, and capturing the interest of the listener throughout the entire concert." (MusicWeb, March 2005) |
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| "La soliste invitée Shannon Mercer (soprano) vient s'ajouter avec
sensibilité et justesse dans des airs de Purcell (Nymphs and Shepherds, Music for a While
et le lamento " When I am laid in Earth " extrait de Dido and Aeneas) et de
Campion (entre autres Come Away, Give Beauty all her Right et The Peaceful Western
Wind)." (Scena Musicale, mars 2005) |
|
| "Restraint has real appeal in early English repertoire and the pure,
"Anglo" manner of soprano Shannon Mercer suits this music. The Ottawa native
sings Purcell's "Music for Awhile" and "Dido's Lament" with a
less-is-more approach and at ideally stately tempos. For the simpler Campion airs, Mercer
manages an especially compelling match of style and sentiment." (Newark
Star-Ledger, 28 December 2004) |
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| "La rafraîchissante soprano Shannon Mercer, à la diction
impeccable, interprète quelques Ayres de brillante façon, autant dans l'emportée Come
Away de Campion que dans le lamento When I am Laid in Earth du Dido and Aeneas de
Purcell." (La Presse, 18 décembre 2004) |
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| "From the first measures, the rich and ample voice of Shannon Mercer
pinned me to my chair." (Ultra High Fidelity Magazine) |
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| "On this program, I especially enjoy Shannon Mercer's voice." (American Record Guide, March/April 2005) |
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Copyright © 2007
Shannon Mercer
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