Squamish performer Lyndon Ladeur will be centre stage in a new show from acclaimed young artists company Opera Mariposa.
On Saturday, June 16th, Ladeur will perform in Toward Tomorrow, a gala benefit concert at Marpole United Church in Vancouver. The show will raise awareness and funds for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) – sometimes referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome – and Fibromyalgia (FM), with proceeds supporting the ME/FM Society of BC.
“It’s always amazing to be onstage, but it’s a privilege to make music for such a great cause,” says Ladeur, a Howe Sound Secondary grad. “In Toward Tomorrow, I’ll be performing everything from art song to operatic highlights from The Magic Flute and L’elisir d’amore. We’re weaving together opera, Broadway show tunes and more to make an inspiring show that has something for everybody.”
This month he was a prize winner in the inaugural Art Song Competition from the Vancouver Women’s Musical Society, and this summer he’ll represent Vancouver at the BC Provincial Music Festival before making his UK debut at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival.
Mariposa’s artistic director Jacqueline Ko suffers from ME, a systemic neuro-immune disease that affects around 15-30 million people worldwide and 1.6 per cent of people in Canada. Mariposa holds annual benefit concerts for ME and related illnesses, and in the past five years they’ve raised over $50,000 for ME & FM.
Ladeur, an operatic tenor who has performed with Mariposa in the past, says he was thrilled to be chosen to star in one of their internationally recognized charity shows.