Lorraine Briscoe

Pure delight was what it was to be sitting in the lobby at the Theatre Lac Brome on a beautiful Sunday morning in August listening to talented 20-year-old soprano Mia Rolland sing her heart out for the audience of 120.

Mia entertained the crowd with an eclectic selection of ten songs which were accompanied by the highly respected Sherbrooke pianist Carmen Picard. Mia’s repertoire included classical opera and songs from Grease and West Side Story. She melted our hearts with her Danny Boy encore.

Mia doesn’t just have an amazing voice.

She sparkles when she sings. The enjoyment is in watching her have fun. She connected easily with her audience between songs, both in fluent French and in English with a charming British accent.

Mia was raised in London U.K. but she considers Knowlton her home, having spent summers and Christmas holidays here since she was born. She comes from a musically gifted Quebecois family and excelled as a clarinetist until last year when she decided to pursue a career in opera singing. She is well on her way. She has performed several times with the Yale Baroque Opera Project and this summer she received a full scholarship to study at both the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute and Orford Music Academy. It will be interesting to follow her promising career and look forward to her return performances at the TLB.