Tuesday, July 14, 2009

LADY MARIA PELLEGRINI - Opera Singer


Throughout her career, Lady Pellegrini (recipient of the Cavalleressa del Ordine del Merito Italiana) has left her mark interpreting Puccini’s heroines, among them, her internationally acclaimed Cio-Cio San, remains in the minds of opera aficionados everywhere. As Madama Butterfly, Maria has sung in many of the world’s leading opera houses, including The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Sadler Wells, Il Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Teatro Nacinal di Santo Domingo, New Jersey Opera, Vancouver Opera, the Taipei Music Festival and the Canadian Opera Company. She has graced the stages with other opera greats, such as Luciano Pavarotti, Sir George Solti, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Edward Downes, Anton Guadagno, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Ernesto Barbini, Birgit Nilsson, Frano Corelli, Gweneth Jones, Renata Scotto, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jon Vickers, Ermanno Mauro, Renata Bruson and Lando Bartolini. Her discography includes Passione, a collection of well-known arias recorded live. Among her many artistic achievements, Lady Pellegrini has been awarded the Ponte d’Oro, Il Primo Soprano d’Italia, the coveted Caravella d’Oro Award, the Puccini Medallion and was proclaimed by Lord Harewood as “the greatest Butterfly alive”. The Societe Radio Canada created a film production of Madama Butterfly for international televised broadcasts starring Lady Pellegrini, as well as productions of Traviata, Manon Lescaut, Lucia de Lammermoor and Otello. More recently, Bravo! has created a documentary called The Life & Times of Maria Pellegrini, Canada’s Butterfly, which is aired regularly on the Bravo! channel. We are both pleased and honored to have Lady Pellegrini play the role of Queen Mara Whitewood in the film Strafe.

Monday, July 6, 2009

ROBERT NOLAN - Actor


Robert Nolan is a graduate of the University of Toronto with an Honors Degree in English and Drama. He is one of the busiest independent actors in Toronto. Under the tutelage of comic maestro feature director John Durno ('This Movie Sucks', 'David Suzuki?', 'Gladiator!') and Steve Markle ('Inside Steve's MInd' ), Robert is mastering the persuasive nuances of comedy while being equally at home in the powerful passions of drama. He has been cast in many dark roles ('Scent of Rosemary', 'Blind Spot', 'Hyde' ) and has appeared on stage ('Rebel Without a Cause', 'Bethune''), on TV ('Zero Hour', 'Brain Attack', 'Cold Blood') and on radio. 2009 has been a busy year so far with the completion of challenging roles in the feature crime-drama 'Lucky 7' (Brian, principal), the 35-mm feature psycho thriller 'A Date With Fear' (Rick, principal) and the disturbing psychological portrait of a teacher in 'Worm' (lead). He participated in the recent charity dance competition 'Dancing With The Local Stars' at the Windsor Casino and has discovered a new passion for waltz, salsa and more (thanks to teacher Jennifer Lee of Viva Studios). Robert has just wrapped on an episode of 'Cold Blood 2' ("Sarah Whitehead") and is currently shooting a Much Music anti-bullying PSA music video - 'Bully' by hip-hop star D.O. (Duane Gibson). Upcoming projects include principal roles in several feature films - the sci-fi suspense-thriller feature 'Minus 8' , the action-packed 'Simon's Reach' and the mysterious 'UFO Charlie'. Robert would love to return to the stage and has plans of jumping out of an airplane (with a chute) this summer with a couple of cute girls (they talked him into it) - but first he plans on learning to play the piano - at least as well as that languid cat in the youtube video. Life is just too short isn't it? Robert played the principal role of "Kralin Whitewood" in the film "Strafe".