​Hailed by critics for her “ethereal”, “powerful yet lucid”, and “silvery bright” voice, Canadian soprano Ellen Wieser turned heads at the Castleton Festival, where she created the role of Justice Ginsburg in the world premiere of Scalia-Ginsburg. Her commanding stage presence has been described as “tremendous”, “especially compelling”, “vibrant” and “a ray of sunshine” and has led to operatic and concert engagements with reputed Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and Opera companies across the United States, Canada and Asia. Recent career highlights include participation in Tapestry Opera’s LibLab and Opera Briefs in Toronto, the creation of the title character in the opera Justine et les machines by Sonia Paço Rocchia and MEB with Musique 3 femmes in Montréal, and receiving the "Emerging Artist" prize at the third international Récital-concours de mélodies françaises. In Asia she has performed as a soloist at the Jeonju International Sori Festival and with the Korea Union Orchestra in South Korea, and in a recital tour throughout the Nagoya region of Japan. Past notable performances have included Ein Deutches Requiem with Jacques Lacombe and the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Steve Reich’s Tehillim with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the roles of Clorinda (Cinderella) and Frasquita (Carmen) with Opera Lyra Ottawa, and Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) with Montreal’s Opera da Camera. In recital, she has performed Fauré’s La bonne chanson with piano and string quintet, as well as Hugo Wolf’s complete Italienisches Liederbuch at Montréal’s Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur. At the Prince Edward County Music Festival she performed Barber’s Hermit Songs with pianist Stéphane Lemelin as well as Ana Sokolovic’s Tanzer Lieder with chamber ensemble.

World premiere of Matthew Ricketts' "No Masque for Good Measure"

A graduate of the prestigious San Francisco Opera Merola Opera Program, Ms. Wieser has appeared in lead and supporting roles with Palm Beach Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Castleton Festival, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Tapestry Opera, Musique 3 femmes, Productions Mélodie, Highlands Opera Studio, Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, the Pazzia Collective in collaboration with the Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts Festival, the Compagnie Baroque de Mont-Royal, and Opera da Camera. Solo concert highlights have included featured appearances with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Saint-Lawrence Choir, the Choir of the Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Wieser is a two-time laureate of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques and was the recipient of the FIDAPA prize at the 2014 Alcamo International Voice Competition in Sicily.

Backstage with Steve Reich and soloists of "Tehillim" with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Visiting with Ruth Bader Ginsburg following the world premiere of "Scalia-Ginsburg"

​Ellen holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Manitoba, School of Music, and a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. A strong advocate for contemporary opera and song literature, her Artist Diploma was dedicated to the research and performance of contemporary Canadian song literature. Ellen maintains working relationships with numerous gifted Canadian and American composers. Notable premieres have included the operas Scalia-Ginsburg by Derrick Wang (Justice Ginsburg), No Masque for Good Measure by Matthew Ricketts (Soprano 1: Messenger/Drag Queen), Justine et les machines by Sonia Paço-Rocchia (Justine), Nadia by Romain Camiolo (La mère), Racines by Maxime Daignault (Soprano 2),  Meriwether by Jim Lahti (Julia Hancock) and Nessie by Danielle Post (Nessie/Alice), as well as numerous opera briefs in collaboration with Laurence Jobidon, Adam Scime, Romain Camiolo and Joseph Glaser, Luna Peal Woolf’s One to One to One, Isaiah Cecarelli’s Toute clarté m’est obscure, Defora fai sinhes lo finestra, and Da caelo servare, Matthew Ricketts' Song Cycle, Danny Clay’s Children’s Songs, and Jim Lahti’s Three Songs on Poems of Hart Crane. Other recent performances of works by living composers include The Vinedressers by Tobin Stokes (Helena) at Highlands Opera Studio, Luna Pearl Woolf’s Rumi: Quatrains of Love and Lori Laitman’s Love Songs of the Marichiko for Montreal’s Sans Souvlaki Series, and Tanzer Lieder by Ana Sokolovic at the Prince Edward County Music Festival. In 2023, Ellen looks forward to premiering new works by Parisa Sabet, Anna Pidgorna (with writer Maria Reva), and Airat Ichmouratov, with her trio Noise Partout (Jennifer Szeto, piano and Jean-Christophe Lizotte, cello), a project that has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Montreal’s Maisons de culture.

On set for the filming of "Justine et les machines" by Sonia Paço-Rocchia

As Justine in the live premiere of "Justine et les machines" by Sonia Paço-Rocchia

Ellen is equally active as a teacher and pedagogue. She proudly maintains a private studio for voice and piano students of all ages and abilities. She is a vocal coach at the Maîtrise des Petits chanteurs de Montréal and the voice specialist for the Fine Arts Focus program at Heritage Regional High School in St. Hubert, Quebec. She has previously held teaching positions at the Conservatoire de la Montérégie in St. Lambert, Quebec, at Center Stage Dance and Performing Arts Studio in West Islip, New York, and at Belvoir Terrace in Lennox, Massechussetts.

​Ellen Wieser lives in Montreal with her husband and duo partner, cellist Jean-Christophe Lizotte, and their two daughters.