Canadian soprano Tonia Evans Cianciulli has won the Canadian Book Award for her recent “The Heart’s Obsession.” 

The book, which centers on the musical journey of opera singer Georgina Ann Stirling, also known as Marie Toulinquet and “The Nightingale of the North,” separates fact from fiction by examining the documents and artifacts left after the famed singer’s passing. 

Stirling was born in 1867 in Twillingate Newfoundland and would go on to study in Paris under Mathilde Marchesi. She then toured throughout Europe and also appeared alongside such companies as Opera Company of New York City, the Boston Harmony Orchestra Society, and Scalchi Opera Company.

In addition to the book, Cianciulli has released a companion album to accompany the literary work and amplify the experience for readers. 

Cianciulli has had a prolific performance career, appearing with such companies as Toronto Concert Orchestra, Casa Loma Symphony, Opera York, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Opera Mississauga Sarnia Orchestra, and the Brampton Lyric Opera, among others. In 2010, the soprano also founded WISH Opera.

Learn more about her experience with creating “The Heart’s Obsession” here.