Toronto City Opera is celebrating the organization’s 80th anniversary at their annual fundraiser. The Viva Voce Gala & Fundraiser takes place April 19 for an afternoon of performance and much more that will support TCO’s 2026/27 season.
The menu is Greek-themed to go along with TCO’s June production of Orpheus in the Underworld, Offenbach’s witty and satirical take on the ancient myth. The performances include past and future TCO cast members.
You can enjoy operatic excellence, fine dining, and more while supporting Toronto City Opera and their ongoing mission to support the next generation of talented vocalists and offer the community performance excellence.
Featured Performers
Daniela Agostino, Soprano
Italian-Canadian soprano Daniela Agostino earned a Master’s degree in Performance and Literature from Western University. She was the winner of The London Opera Guilds Scholarship in 2017, and was a finalist at the National Capital Opera Competition in Ottawa, Ontario.
She has performed with Voicebox: Opera in Concert, Southern Ontario Lyric Opera, BROTT Opera, and Opera York. She sang in the Canadian premiere of A Northern Light’s Dream with Toronto Operetta Theatre in 2022, and the Toronto premiere of the Pulitzer Prize winning Angel’s Bone, a co-production of Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre, Loose Tea Music Theatre, Arraymusic, and Turning Point Ensemble. Daniela has also performed as a soloist with York Symphony Orchestra, and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Diana will be performing in TCO’s Orpheus in the Underworld 2026.
Jada Alexiou, Mezzo Soprano
After earning a BFA with Specialized Honours in Voice Performance from York University, Jada Alexiou entered the Glenn Gould School, where she currently studies Opera & Voice in the Artist Diploma Program. She is the recipient of a scholarship from the Musical Club of Toronto Foundation. Jada has also trained with artists in Canada and at the International Music Academy in Breno, Italy.
Jada has performed in solo recitals, and as part of choral ensembles such at Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, VOICEBOX, Opera in Concert, and Apocryphonia. Her vocal repertoire includes musical theatre, pop, jazz, and R&B along with opera and classical music from the Baroque to contemporary eras. Jada has performed with Toronto Operetta Theatre, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre, and Opera Nuova. She also teaches Voice, Piano, and Music Theory at Long & McQuade, and private students in voice as a registered Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) instructor.
Jada stars in TCO’s Upcoming Orpheus in the Underworld.
Ross Mortimer, Tenor
Tenor Ross Mortimer studied instrumental music in high school in London, Ontario, and joined the London Youth Symphony as a bassoonist before making the switch to vocal studies. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Western University’s Don Wright music faculty, followed by an Artist Diploma in Performance from the Glenn Gould School.
Ross has performed with the Canadian Opera Company Chorus, and as a soloist with London Community Orchestra, Toronto Classical Singers, and York Symphony, and released his own crossover album of holiday music in 2019. He sang the role of Canio in TCO’s 2025 presentation of I Pagliacci. Other notable engagements include performance in Houston Grand Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly and Opéra de Montréal’s La Reine-garçon (as Bilodeau) in 2025.
Matthew Li, Bass
Matthew Li is a graduate of the Atelier lyrique de Opéra de Montréal. His operatic repertoire includes Leporello, Masetto and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dulcamara in Elisir d’amore, Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, and Colline in La Bohème. In concert, he has performed as a soloist in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Handel’s Messiah, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem, and Bach’s Missa Brevis in A.
He has worked with composers and producers to create and premiere roles, including the leading bass-baritone role of Xon Pon in Alice Ping Yee Ho and Madeleine Thien’s opera Chinatown with City Opera Vancouver in 2022. Matthew also premiered a song cycle titled Triptych by Roydon Tse in Montréal in 2024, and has performed in recital with the Société d’art vocal de Montréal, Concerts@100, and as a voice fellow at the Toronto Summer Music Festival.
He starred in TCO’s 2017 production of The Magic Flute, and was a 2025 Macina Competition Finalist.
Recent roles include Sciarrone in the Pacific Opera Victoria production of Tosca, Masetto in Don Giovanni with Opéra de Montréal, performing as a soloist with the Ottawa Choral Society, and with the Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes in Montréal as the Mandarin in Turandot.
Ivan Estey Jovanovic, accompanist
TCO’s Music Director, Ivan Estey Jovanovic, will provide piano accompaniment. Ivan began studying music in his native Serbia at the Belgrade Faculty of Music, where he completed his B.Mus. He was a pianist/accompanist at the National Theatre Belgrade, and joined the Belgrade Opera Orchestra as a répétiteur and concert pianist.
After performing in a recital series in Toronto, he fell in love with the city, and returned in 2013 to complete his Master’s degree at the University of Toronto. He won the Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying the same year. Ivan has served as a vocal coach and harpsichordist at the UofT’s Early Music Department and Schola Cantorum, and as primary vocal coach/harpsichordist with Toronto Lyric Opera.
He began serving as accompanist for Toronto City Opera in 2014, and in 2017, expanded his role to become TCO’s Music Director.
Gala & More
Along with performance and fine dining, the event offers participants a silent auction with exclusive prizes from organizations such as the Canadian Opera Company, Opera Atelier, and the Aga Khan Museum. There will be a 50/50 raffle, and a chance to win a five-night all-inclusive stay at the Bahia Principe Luxury Runaway Bay Resort, Jamaica.
All proceeds from the Viva Voce Fundraiser directly support Toronto City Opera and its programming for 2026/27.
- Find tickets and event details for the April 19 event [HERE].
- Find tickets and details for the June 27 and 28 performances of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld [HERE].
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