Sebastian Haboczki

Sebastian Haboczki is a tenor with a “lyric and sweetly emotive” voice (Dawn Martens from Opera Canada) who has been acclaimed for his “power and his voluptuous timbres” (Jeanne Hourez for Sors-tu?). This “promising tenor” (Christophe Huss for Le Devoir) has delighted audiences in Canada, Europe, and the USA. He also had the great privilege of performing at Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw with Opera Studio Netherlands in the summer of 2012. His latest engagements with the Atelier Lyrique and Opéra de Montréal include Dormont in Rossini’s La scala di seta, Scott Fitzgerald in Gordon's 27, and Ring Announcer in the Canadian debut of Blanchard's Champion. 

A seasoned performer, Sebastian also obtained his doctorate under the tutelage of famed Canadian baritone Kevin McMillan. Sebastian’s dissertation, an exploration of Hungarian culture and music, has served as inspiration for many concerts. 

"Shantelle Przybylo’s lush and soaring Mimì was the perfect foil for Sebastian Haboczki’s lyric and sweetly emotive Rodolfo. Przybylo and Haboczki were a powerful dramatic duo who left the audience in tears." - Dawn Martens for "Opera Canada"

Melissa McCann

New York based soprano Melissa McCann recently made her role debut as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Highlands Opera Festival. After completing a post-graduate artist diploma at San Fransisco Conservatory with world famous soprano, Deborah Voigt, Melissa earned her doctorate under the guidance of Canadian baritone Kevin McMillan in 2018. When she appeared as Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice, she was praised by the New University for her “great sense of line and legato” with “her [arias] sublimely acted, articulate and moving”. Her tone has also been described as “achingly gorgeous” by the Orange County Register. She was recently seen as Xanthe in Strauss’s Die liebe der Danae and as Fosca in Scandals with Pittsburgh Festival Opera. Past appearances include Princess in The Glove with Highlands Opera Studio and Polissena in Radamisto with Accademia Europa dell’Opera. In 2014, Melissa sang the American national anthem for President Barack Obama at the University of California, Irvine's 50th anniversary celebration. 

"Newly-minted voice Melissa McCann hit an octave I didn't know existed while singing the national anthem." - Orange County Weekly

Paul Digout 

Vocal coach Paul Digout holds a Master of Music degree in collaborative piano and a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University, where he studied with Dr. John Hess. Paul also holds an associate diploma in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has been invited to participate in prestigious international young artist programs including La Musica Lirica (Novafeltria, Italy), Opera NUOVA (Edmonton, Alberta), and the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy (London, Ontario). In these programs, Mr. Digout has been privileged to work with notable pedagogues including Michael McMahon and Martin Katz. In demand as a collaborative pianist and repetateur, Paul has worked across Canada and internationally with the Yorkshire Opera Workshop (Yorkshire, U.K.), Halifax Summer Opera Festival (Halifax, NS), Cowtown Opera Summer Academy (Calgary, AB), The Victoria Playhouse (Petrolia, Ontario) and Music Theatre on the Thames (London, Ontario). Currently, Mr. Digout maintains a full schedule as a freelance collaborative pianist at Western University in London, Ontario. 

Istvan Lakatos 

Istvan Lakatos is a Hungarian Roma violinist born in Budapest. He is a member of a world famous musical dynasty that goes back 150 years. He was taught by his father, also a noted violinist, from the age of 3. He is a graduate of the internationally renowned Franz Liszt Music Academy of Budapest, Hungary. By the age of 16, he had already toured all over Europe with his own orchestra. In 1987, he was invited by Elizabeth Taylor and her guests, Brooke Shields and George Hamilton, to play at a private concert in the south of Spain. He has played all over the world in famous concert halls, jazz clubs (with Les Paul), and with singers at the Metropolitan Opera. Currently, he is a violinist with the World Symphony Orchestra in Montreal and recently joined I Musici. When he's not enchanting audiences with his music, you can find Istvan cooking! He opened a Hungarian restaurant, The Budapest Roma, in Montreal. 

We will also have a mystery star performer! Stay tuned!