OTTAWA, March 15, 2011 – Patricia O’Callaghan is an incredible talent on the Canadian jazz scene. One part torch singer, one part vintage cabaret singer and one part opera diva, Patricia O’Callaghan is a completely unique performer with a voice so powerful she will blow you away. Catch Patricia at the intimate NAC Fourth Stage for a truly exceptional musical experience.

Patricia O'Callaghan was born and raised in Northern Ontario, Canada. At seventeen she lived in Mexico for a year as an exchange student. It was there that she had an epiphany one day and decided she should become an opera singer. Up until that time she could not decide whether to become a rock star or a nun and she thought opera was the perfect melding of the two: all the discipline and undebauched life of a nun, but she would still get to sing.

She trained at the University of Toronto and the Banff Centre for the Arts. In 1996 she got a Chalmer's Grant which allowed her to stop waitressing and devote herself to music full time. Pulling in favours from friends and family, she made her first CD, Youkali. It featured cabaret songs by Weill, Satie and Poulenc - not quite opera, but close. She was signed to Marquis/EMI shortly thereafter. Following the release of her second CD, Slow Fox, her worldwide distribution outside of Canada was snatched up by Teldec/Warner. So her third CD, Real Emotional Girl, was released internationally, and she ended up touring her cabaret show around Europe and North America. Her fourth CD, Naked Beauty, is receiving critical and popular praise.

Patricia does actually sing opera at times, mostly contemporary stuff. Recent highlights include opening the 2007 season in Weill’s Threepenny Opera with Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company and touring the Juno winning opera Constantinople by Christos Hatzis to Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. She recently appeared on jazz clarinettist Don Byron's CD, A Fine Line, and has been touring with him as well. She's also had the good fortune to appear in television shows, including the Ken Finkelman series Foolish Heart, her own Bravo! special, and the CBC/Rhombus special Youkali Hotel. Patricia makes her home in Toronto and feels pretty lucky to be able to travel all over the world, singing great tunes.

Patricia O’Callaghan appears in this cabaret performance alongside musicians Robert Kortgaard on piano and Andrew Downing on double bass.

“An impressive talent with unlimited potential… The show’s crammed with charm and charisma”
Toronto Star

Patricia O’Callaghan performs in the Fourth Stage of the National Arts Centre on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.

Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices; to reserve your seats, call 613-947-7000, ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

Tickets are available for purchase:

• In person at the NAC Box Office
• At all Ticketmaster outlets
• By telephone from Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS) new!  
• Online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (www.nac-cna.ca)
• A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster

This production is eligible for the Live Rush program. Full-time students aged 13-29 with a valid Live Rush membership may buy up to two tickets per performance at the discounted price of only $12 per ticket. Live Rush tickets are available from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the performance. This includes all available seats, including the best seats in the house. Check out liverush.ca for information on the Live Rush program.

Don’t miss these NAC Presents upcoming shows

March 19: Peter Karp & Sue Foley –He Said-She Said (Studio)
April 9: Jimmy Hunt (Fourth Stage)
April 15: Bruce Cockburn (Southam Hall)
April 16: Geggie Jazz Series : Christian Howes and Kim Ratcliffe (Fourth Stage)
April 29: Nadia Gaudet et Daniel ROA (Fourth Stage)
April 30: Geggie Jazz Series: Sigudur Flosason, Kelly Jefferson, Scott Wendholt and Karl Jannuska (Fourth Stage)
May 26-27: Patricia Cano (Fourth Stage)

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For more information, please call:
Marie-Chantale Labbé-Jacques
Associate Marketing Officer
National Arts Centre
613-947-7000 ext. 526; e-mail: mclabbe@nac-cna.ca
or visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca