For the first faculty concert of the season at Coquitlam's Place des Arts, soprano Lambroula Pappas wants to take her audience around the world through song.
And it wasn't an easy task to whittle down the selection, she admits.
With the help of pianist David Bergeron - who will accompany Pappas on her hour-long show on Saturday - the pair narrowed the operatic pieces to include a variety of mainly European sounds over the past 150 years.
A dozen songs will be featured from Spanish, French, Italian, Greek and German composers.
But the musicians also thought it was important to throw into the program some Canadian and American modern works, too, from the likes of Denis Gougeon and Amy Beach.
"We want to be opera tour guides, showing off the styles of music out there," Pappas said.
The two have teamed up before for recitals. In June, they performed at the Vancouver International Song Institute (both are faculty members), an annual workshop series at the University of B.C. for student and professional musicians and actors to learn about Art Song.
An instructor at Place des Arts for three years and the head of the vocal department at the BC Conservatory of Music, Pappas is well known for playing Gilda in Rigoletto - a character she has portrayed more than 25 times across North America and Europe.
A former member of the Atelier Lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, the mother-of-two has also played Marie in La Fille du Régiment, Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte, the title role in Amelia Goes to the Ball, Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte.
As well, as a concert soloist, Pappas has appeared with symphony orchestras across Canada and with Germany's East West Symphony, Belgium's Opéra de Wallonie, France's Opéra d'Avignon, Spain's Delegada Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid, Orquesto Pablo Sarasate de Pamplona, Northwest Sinfonetta, Lake Union Civic Orchestra and New York's Lincoln Centre at Alice Tully Hall.
Bergeron, a Montreal native, has a doctor of musical arts degree from UBC and promotes contemporary Quebecois music.
Tickets for Pappas' concert at Place des Arts (1120 Brunette Ave.) on Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. are $15/$13. Call 604-664-1636 or visit www.placedesarts.ca. The facility has three more faculty shows planned this season: A Celebration of Robbie Burns with Rosie Carver and Blackthorn (including a Scottish dinner) on Jan. 19; Titans of Russian Romanticism with Karina Slupski, Anna Levy and Benjamin Goheen on Feb. 23; and Feel-good Songs of Broadway with Shawna Parry and Lance Cardinal on April 13.
