Judith Forst + Wallis Giunta

JUDITH FORST: So, how did you get your start in the industry?

WALLIS GUINTA: My introduction to classical music and the idea of being able to sing for a living came through many years of singing in a prominent children’s choir in Ottawa. I started in the choir when I was eight, and continued into my teens. And all along the way I had encouragement and feedback that I should pursue singing and keep going. That led me to undergrad in voice and everything developed from that. It just evolved as it’s supposed to. After lots of summer programs, a couple of summers at the Banff Centre, and various levels of education and young artist programs, I just started working. So pretty boring, pretty standard. But I do have a choral background and my first choir director to credit for encouraging me in that direction.

J: When I’m asked this question—“How did you get your start in the industry?”—[it was] through a lot of people suggesting I do things! From going to the music program at UBC [University of British Columbia], when there was no opera department there. In about my third year we started having opera in the summer, with French Tickner, who came up from California. And by the time they had an opera program at UBC, I had just graduated. So, I still kept going to it by paying for my tuition by playing the piano for his lessons or doing the music library stuff.

W: Wow.

So that then evolved, fortuitously, and the Vancouver Opera started a young artist program and that was [thanks to] Irving Guttman. He put that together with James Norcop. They invited me to be in that program and they brought phenomenal coaches and répetiteurs from Covent Garden, [such as] Robert