PRESS | saraschabassoprano

As Henri in Tapestry Opera's Bandits in the Valley (photo by Dahlia Katz).

As Najade in Highlands Opera's Ariadne auf Naxos.

As Eve in The Little Opera Company of Winnipeg's The Walk From The Garden

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As Frasquita in Carmen with the Mississauga Symphony.

As the soprano soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the George Weston Recital Hall.

"Soprano Sara Schabas crafted her wholly believable Addie with both youthful innocence and can-do practicality. Her compassionate portrayal of the young girl’s raw emotions – and even grace after her embittered father cruelly bullies her – avoided gratuitous stereotype. Her crystal-clear vocals soared through each of her arias, including her heartrending “Won’t You Please Buy me a Tree,” as well as giggling and smashing “eggheads” with BFF Carla-Mae (mezzo-soprano Ashley Schneberger) during one of the early kitchen scenes."

Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press/Opera Canada Magazine

"Schabas — this year’s winner of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music’s Wirth Vocal Prize —... quickly impressed with her clear tone. She skillfully navigated the shifts between tenderness and intensity in 'Quando m’en vo' from Puccini’s La Bohème. Schabas also sang 'Pamier, how beautiful is my homeland' by Zheng Qiufeng, capturing its upbeat rhythm and lively tone.”

Amanda Wong, LaScena Musicale

"...an evening of taut drama, fuelled by no-holds-barred performances. These came with Schabas and Kehler’s series of short solos and duets, with the duo, now swathed in earthy robes, melding their voices in close-knit harmonies and unflinching a cappella passages. A highlight proved to be Eve’s sorrowful 'Never again this,' performed as an elegy for their former idyllic world, as she mourns their loss of innocence.”

Holly Harris, Opera Canada

“Schabas’s beautifully clear, light lyric soprano did full justice to these songs. Her rendition of Marietta’s Lied was a highlight. It’s of course from Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, arguably the best-known work on the program. Her soft mezza voce and high piano were excellent in this lovely aria.”

Joseph So, Ludwig Van Toronto

"Sara Schabas was a delightfully coy Zerlina, singing a very sensuous 'Vedrai, carino'."

Dawn Martens, Opera Canada

"Soprano Sara Schabas, who had wowed the crowd ... with her crystalline singing of a snippet of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier."

Jenna Douglas, Schmopera

"Schabas, possessing a lovely soubrette with a pure sound, not just sang it beautifully, but she looks like Sophie as well — brava!"

Joseph So, Ludwig Van Toronto

"A young vocal virtuoso"

David Jaeger, The Wholenote Magazine

"Schabas took us on an emotional roller coaster, using her versatile voice to express sorrow, anger, and confusion.

Dawn Martens, Opera Canada

"[Schabas] brings out every ounce of the horror, and there’s plenty, skillfully but without over egging it."

John Gilks, operaramblings

"nothing short of heroic. ... both an engaging actress and singer. Schabas’ singing demonstrated her mastery of English lyric diction. She sang each word clearly and with the perfect balance of operatic grandeur and humanity."

Matthew Timmermans, Ludwig van Toronto

"Her ability to flip from a comedic ... to sorrow, stemming from the unrequited love she feels for Lily, is impressive; and her voice maintains a clear, soft tone despite her vocal power."

Isabella Perrone, Opera Canada Magazine

"haunting and nuanced .. 'creepy AF'."

Keira Grant, Mooney On Theatre

"Artist-in-Residence Sara Schabas hid her daring self in an old crone's costume. When revealed in the final moments, she proved to be youth and beauty personified."

Burt Saidel, Oakwood Register, Ohio

"Our darling Papagena from Flute, Sara Schabas, sang three very different selections beautifully."

Oakwood Register, Ohio

Features:

Opera Canada - Artist of the Week
Sara is featured as Opera Canada Magazine's Artist of the Week.

Radio-Canada/CBC Manitoba - Feature
Sara is interviewed on Radio-Canada's nightly news and featured in a segment.

Classic 107 - Interview and Live Performance
Sara is interviewed and sings live on Winnipeg's Classic 107 FM radio and youtube channel.

Entrevue - Y a pas deux matins pareils, ICI Radio-Canada

Sara and Isabelle David are interviewed by Hadrien Volle about their concert for the Canadian Opera Compaany in January, 2024. Listen here.

Sara and the Canadian pianist Isabelle David, January 2024.

INTERVIEW - BARCZA BLOG

Are you more like your father or your mother?

I’m lucky to have inherited traits from both my parents. While I certainly look like my mum and share many of her mannerisms, personality traits, habits (including her love of reading) and artistic sensibilities, I also like to think I take many qualities from my father: his jovialness, work ethic and musicality (he was originally a french horn player). Music, art and social justice stretch throughout my family tree, and many of my aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins are either artists or work in the arts or are engaged in human rights in some way.

What is the best or worst thing about what you do?

The best thing about what I do is I have the opportunity to make an immediate connection and impact on other people. Whether it’s five minutes of joy or a life-changing performance (though of course those are rare!), I get to share something intimate with people I’ve never met before. It’s also a huge privilege to constantly engage with an art form that awakens and inspires all aspects of the human condition. The classical music tradition is so rich and varied that every day I get to learn and discover something new.

INTERVIEW - THE WHOLENOTE MAGAZINE

By David Perlman

Soprano Sara Schabas' newly created Electric Bond Opera Ensemble is definitely the new kid on the indie opera block, but Schabas herself is not, having grown up in the world of “the opera.” So she comes to this project with a deeply rooted, organic passion for the storytelling power of the medium. Her grandfather, Ezra Schabas, among other musical achievements, was head of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music performance and opera department from 1968 to 1978, where Sara Schabas herself went on to complete an undergraduate degree in vocal performance. “Dad was a french horn player before he became a lawyer,” she explains, “and both my parents and all my grandparents had a huge love for opera. Starting at age four, they’d put on a VHS of La Boheme, Act 1 for me. I’d listen to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera every week. I was that weird kid who loved opera from a very young age. So it’s always been a very natural thing for me.”