Denise Massé

Denise Massé was born on April 2, 1946, in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). She spent her childhood in Drummondville before moving back to Montreal to study as a pianist, where she received her bachelor of music from the école de musique Vincent-d'Indy (1966) and completed graduate work in musical performance at the Université de Montréal (1969). After winning the 1969 Canadian Music Competition (est. 1957, now CANIMEX Canadian Music Competition), Denise Massé spent several years studying both piano and accompaniment in Vienna with Dieter Weber and Erik Werba, famed accompanist of Christa Ludwig and Brigitte Fassbaender, among others.

Trained as a concert pianist, Denise Massé took an early interest in opera, beginning with maestro Mario Bernardi at the National Arts Center in 1975, and continuing with the Opéra de Montréal, from its inception in 1980 until 1993.[5]

As an accompanist or vocal coach for many prominent artists, such as dancers–Maya Plisetskaya, Vincent Warren, and singers– Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Cecilia Bartoli, and Renée Fleming;[6] of further note, Denise Massé worked at the Metropolitan Opera under music directors James Levine (1993-2016) and Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2016-2018), and was a Vocal Arts faculty member at the Juilliard School (1998-2018)[7] in New York City.

She also worked with young singers of the MET's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program (2012-2018), taught at the Curtis Institute (2006-2012) in Philadelphia, and was involved in programs at Ravinia's Steans Music Institute in Chicago, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Germany, the Sociedad Internacional de Valores de Arte Mexicano (SIVAM), and the Canadian Vocal Art Institute[8] in Montreal, among others.

Denise Massé retired in 2018 and returned to Montreal. She died of a stroke on June 14, 2022, after battling dementia. The director Fabrizio Melano dedicated his production of Charles Gounod’s Faust at the Savannah Voice Festival in memoriam. The Performing Arts Foundation of the Americas is currently creating an award to honor her passion in teaching, and life, in music.

Practicing in Drummondville where she spent her childhood (c. 1952)

On the set of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens' performance of 'Adieu Robert Schumann' (1979) by R.M. Schafer and choreographed by Brian MacDonald, with (left to right) Maureen Forrester, Annette av Paul, and Vincent Warren

Accompanying Rockwell Blake at the Teatro Storchi, Modena (1988) and La Scala, Milan (1996).

Rehearsals with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Charles Dutoit for Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (Honnegger), Tokyo (2009)