In 2000, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux became the first Canadian to win the First Prize and the Special Prize for Lieder at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Belgium. Winning these prestigious awards opened the door to an immediate international career, allowing her to perform in recital and in concert with the world's greatest orchestras. On stage, she performs works of Beethoven, Berlioz, Debussy, Gluck, Händel, Haydn, Honegger, Koechlin, Mahler, Monteverdi, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Vivaldi and Wagner, as well as masterpieces from the French repertoire. She sings regularly in the greatest theatres in the world: Berlin and Vienna Staatsopers, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Paris Théâtre des Champs Élysées, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Brussels' Théâtre de la Monnaie, Munich Staastoper, London Covent Garden, and under the direction of the greatest conductors, such as Alan Curtis, Fabien Gabel, Daniele Gatti, Pavo Järvi, Bernard Labadie, and Kurt Masur.