Alex Hetherington

Recently named one of CBC’s “30 hot classical musicians under 30”, mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington completed her tenure in the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio this past season. Recent operatic highlights include singing Mercédès in Carmen, Lapák in Cunning Little Vixen, First Handmaiden in Medea, and the Attendant in Salome with the Canadian Opera Company, as well as premiering the role of [Riley] in R.U.R. A Torrent of Light and portraying the House (mezzo-soprano) in Rocking Horse Winner with Tapestry Opera. In the summer of 2024, Alex sang the role of Offred in a new arrangement of Poul Ruders‘ The Handmaid’s Tale at the Banff Centre for Arts. During the 2024-25 season, Alex will take on the role of Siebel in a new production of Faust at the Canadian Opera Company and make her debut as the Stewardess in Flight with Vancouver Opera.

Equally at home in concert repertoire, Alex has given performances with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem; Sokolovíc’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes; FOCUS: Clara, Robert, Johannes Festival), the Victoria Symphony (Cusson’s Songs from the House of Death), Toronto Summer Music Festival (Schumann’s Dichterliebe),  the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Lieberson’s Neruda Songs), and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Blake’s The Bear). She will join the Ottawa Chamberfest and Chorus Niagara for concerts in the upcoming season. 

Alex holds a Master’s in Opera Performance from the University of Toronto, where she won the Norcop Award in Art Song and completed a research project examining art song performance practice through the lens of modern gender theory.  Alex is passionate about contemporary music, composition, and innovative recital programming. In her spare time, Alex can be found reading, gardening, and doting on dogs (primarily, but not exclusively, her family’s sweet pup, Max). 

Photo by Sam Gaetz