Past Events › opera

HADRIAN Rufus Wainwright with libretto by Daniel MacIvor OCTOBER 13 TO OCTOBER 27, 2018 WORLD PREMIERE Emperor Hadrian is devastated after his lover Antinous drowns in the Nile River. While matters of state encroach on his grief, and advisors clamour for war against a radical new threat to the Empire, Hadrian slips out of time to re-encounter the vision and reality of Antinous — and learn the truth about what happened on the Nile. This highly anticipated world premiere from composer Rufus Wainwright and librettist Daniel…

We open with a French Baroque double bill (Oct. 25, 2018-Nov. 3, 2018 at the Elgin Theatre): Charpentier’s Actéon, coupled with Rameau’s glittering masterpiece, Pygmalion.

by Giacomo Puccini November 2, 2018 @ 7.30pm November 4, 2018 @ 2pm Main Stage, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Cast:   Rudolfo, a poet Kijong Wi Mimi, a seamstress Sara Papini Marcello, a painter Diego Catala Schaunard, a musician Anthony Cleverton Colline, a philosopher Gabriel Sanchez Ortiga Musetta, a singer Dallas Chorley Production Team Music Director Denis Mastromonaco Stage Director Penny Cookson Technical Director TBA Lighting Director Chris Humphrey Stage Manager TBA Construction Manager Dan Stoyles Costume Mistress Amanda…

November 03, 2018, 7:30 PM BUY TICKETS Starting at: $20.00 Venue: Mazzoleni Concert Hall in Ihnatowycz Hall The gifted vocal students from The Glenn Gould School present a double bill of Paul Hindemith’s Back and Forth and Bohuslav Martinů’s Tears of the Knife. Peter Tiefenbach returns as Music Director for the production and Anna Theodosakis will direct.

Tchaikovsky “Pique Dame” Opera by Request presents Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, in concert with piano accompaniment, Friday, November 9, 7:30 pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst). All tickets $20.00. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and additional information. Gherman…………………………Paul Williamson, tenor Lisa…………………………………Anush Pasishnik, soprano Countess………………………….Anna Belikova, mezzo-soprano Count Tomsky…………………..Yevgeny Yablonovsky, baritone Prince Yeletsky………………….Andrey Andreychik, baritone Paulina…………………………….Bree Horton, mezzo-soprano Surin/Narumov………………… George Ossipov, bass-baritone Chekalinsky/Chaplinsky………Jay Lambie, tenor William Shookhoff, music director and pianist

Verdi “Aida” Opera by Request presents Verdi’s Aida, in concert with piano accompaniment, Saturday, November 17, 7:30 pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst). All tickets $20.00. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information. Aida……………………………Stephanie DeCiantis, soprano Amneris………………………Monica Zerbe, mezzo-soprano Radames……………………..Boris Derow, tenor Amonasro…………………….Andrey Andreychik, baritone Ramphis……………………….Steven Henrikson, baritone King of Egypt…………………Norman E. Brown, baritone Messenger…………………….Francis Domingue, tenor High Priestess………………..Laura Schatz, mezzo-soprano William Shookhoff, pianist and music director

Set among colourful lives in a New York tenement, Street Sceneportrays the romance between Rose Maurrant and her neighbour Sam Kaplan as well as the extramarital affair of Rose's mother Anna, which escalates to tension and tragedy. Based on the Pulizer Prize-winning play by Elmer Rice, Kurt Weill's Street Scene is a groundbreaking synthesis of European traditional opera and American musical theatre. Michael Patrick Albano directs and Sandra Horst conducts this Faculty of Music premiere, designed by Fred Perruzza with costumes by Lisa…

Set among colourful lives in a New York tenement, Street Sceneportrays the romance between Rose Maurrant and her neighbour Sam Kaplan as well as the extramarital affair of Rose's mother Anna, which escalates to tension and tragedy. Based on the Pulizer Prize-winning play by Elmer Rice, Kurt Weill's Street Scene is a groundbreaking synthesis of European traditional opera and American musical theatre. Michael Patrick Albano directs and Sandra Horst conducts this Faculty of Music premiere, designed by Fred Perruzza with costumes by Lisa…

Champagne’s delicious bubbles set the stage for the Waltz King’s greatest hit.

Opera by Request presents Verdi’s Nabucco, in concert with piano accompaniment, Saturday, January 12, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst). All tickets $20.00. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information. Nabucco…………………….Gene Wu, baritone Abigaille…………………….Antonina Ermolenko, soprano Ismaele……………………..Cian Horrobin, tenor Zaccaria…………………….Dylan Wright, bass Fenena……………………..Meghan Symon, mezzo-soprano William Shookhoff, music director and pianist Details, here.

Opera by Request presents Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, semi-staged with piano accompaniment, Friday, January 18, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St (Bathurst). All tickets $20.00. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information. Hansel…………………..Shilpa Sharma, mezzo-soprano Gretel……………………Sharon Tikiryan, soprano Father……………………Andrew Tees, baritone Mother………………….Emily Ding, mezzo-soprano Witch…………………….Stephanie Ferracane, soprano Sandman……………….Donna Shahi, soprano Dew Fairy………………Michelle Mosu, soprano with the Vaughan City Voices Stephanie Ferracane, stage director Claire Harris, music director and pianist Details, here.

ELEKTRA R. Strauss JANUARY 26 TO FEBRUARY 22, 2019 COC Revival Elektra feverishly awaits the return of her brother to avenge their father, who was slain years earlier by their mother and her new lover. Driven by an obsessive combination of rage and grief, Elektra feeds her thirst for revenge with primal single-mindedness in this groundbreaking work of musical modernism. For three consecutive seasons, powerhouse soprano Christine Goerke has thrilled COC audiences with her portrayal of Brünnhilde through Wagner’s Ring Cycle operas. She now…

World premiere in partnership with Theatre Passe Muraille MUSIC BY CHRIS THORNBORROW| LIBRETTO BY JULIE TEPPERMAN DIRECTOR/DRAMATURGE RICHARD GREENBLATT CONTENT WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE. Three friends hit university — no parents, new friends, new rules, and a new normal. But freedom is complicated. Hook Up raises questions of consent, shame, and power in the lives of young adults navigating uncharted waters on their own. Featuring:  Emily Lukasik, Alicia Ault, Nathan Carroll,  Alexis Gordon and  Jeff Lillico. Music Director: Jennifer Tung…

FRANZ SCHUBERT FIERABRAS Sunday, February 3, 2019— 2:30 pm A GERMAN OPERA WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES The juxtaposition of two religions is the backdrop for powerful rivalries, the triumph of love and new understanding in the most idealistic of Romantic traditions. Featuring  Kevin Mallon, Conductor, with Aradia Ensemble Robert Cooper, Chorus Director Matthew Dalen as Fierabras Alexander Dobson as King Karl Jocelyn Fralick as Florinda Evan Korbut as Roland Amy Moodie as Emma Justin Welsh as Boland Lawrence Wiliford as Eginhard Tickets, here.

COSÌ FAN TUTTE W.A. Mozart FEBRUARY 5 TO FEBRUARY 23, 2019 COC Revival Mozart's ability to treat the most profound subjects with the lightest touch is at the heart of this story about two young men who decide to test the loyalty of their lovers, sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi. As the unusual experiment begins, nothing unfolds quite as expected, with all assumptions and good intentions challenged by the unpredictable complexities of the human heart. Atom Egoyan’s playful, whimsical production of Mozart’s comedy…

Opera by Request presents Menotti’s The Telephone and Donizetti’s Rita, semi-staged with piano accompaniment, Saturday, January 19, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst). All tickets $20.00. Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information. The Telephone: Ben…………..Mark Towstego, baritone Lucy………….Tsu-Ching Yu, soprano Rita: Rita………….Tsu-Ching Yu, soprano Beppe………Avery Krisman, tenor Gasparo……Larry Tozer, baritone Mark Schonberg, stage director William Shookhoff, music director and pianist Details, here.

Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart March 1, 2019 @ 7.30pm March 3, 2019 @ 2:00pm Artistic Director, Geoffrey Butler Stage Director, Renee Salewski Main Stage, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets, here.

DAM Concert Opera presents Rossini’s Le Comte Ory in a semi-staged version, with interactive narration by acclaimed director François Racine, who leads us into the castle. This zany tale begins with Countess Adele (sung by soprano Caitlin Wood) who is left alone in her castle while the men are away fighting. Add a mysterious hermit, a lovelorn page, a stern tutor, and soldiers disguised as nuns who break into the castle and you have a great blend of comedy and…

In 1775 a teenage Mozart caught the operatic world by storm when he wrote La finta giardiniera, his youthful masterpiece of disguise, deception and the redemptive power of love. Five years later, he revised it as a Singspiel which remained the only known complete score until the Italian version was rediscovered in the late 1970s. Following his enormous success conducting Orphee aux Enfers, Russell Braun returns to the podium to lead the singers of U of T Opera in the original Italian version of La…

The gifted vocal students from The Glenn Gould School and The Royal Conservatory Orchestra present The Magic Flute, conducted by Nathan Brock and directed by Joel Ivany. In Mozart's masterful comedy about love, truth, and the pursuit of enlightenment, prince Tamino sets off to rescue Pamina, the beautiful daughter of the Queen of the Night, from the mysterious Sarastro. But with the help of the birdcatcher Papageno and three Spirits as their guide, Tamino discovers an even bigger adventure, and is…

LA TRAVIATA FOR OUR TIMES One could imagine to the modern eye a 19th century classic like La Traviata would be only a sweet echo of a distant time. But nothing can be further from the truth. The great composer, Giuseppe Verdi, was captured by a contemporary story about people in Paris. The premiere was done in contemporary dress to bring the audience face to face with situations and emotions from their own times and lives. In that spirit we…

As the Faculty of Music celebrates its centenary, U of T Opera offers a program of costumed and staged scenes sampling highlights from over one hundred operas produced since operatic studies began at the University of Toronto. Tickets, here or call 416-408-0208 (U of T students admitted free with a valid T-Card, space permitting.)

Canadian superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman returns to the Toronto opera stage in her award-winning performance as Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo (April 4-13, 2019 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre).

Montréalais composer Claude Vivier (1948–1983) lived a hard and fast life. Before he was found murdered in his hotel room in Paris at the age of 35, he had spent a career rejecting many traditional ideas of life, music and opera, which culminated in writing his only opera Kopernikus. Subtitled “a ritual opera for the dead”, this opera has gone on to become one of Canada’s most performed operas… outside of Canada. The (prophetic) premise? A woman has died and she…

LA BOHÈME Giacomo Puccini APRIL 17 TO MAY 22, 2019 COC Revival Art is life for this group of young bohemians, as they navigate infatuation, poverty, love, and loss in 19th-century Paris. It’s a timeless story that celebrates free-spirited creativity and expresses the romantic power of love with some of the most glorious music ever composed. Puccini’s massively popular opera returns to the stage in John Caird’s hit production, featuring eye-catching sets assembled from paintings evoking the Belle Époque period. On stage…

The greatest waltz of them all in Lehar's masterwork of love, comedy and romance. The Merry Widow has enjoyed extraordinary international success since its 1905 premiere in Vienna and continues to be frequently revived and recorded. The story is based on a comedy play, concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband. Featuring artists: Lucia Cesaroni, Matt Chittick, Daniela Agostino, Gregory Finney and Michael Nyby. Conducted by…

Orpheus Productions Presents: SHAKESPEARE’S CRIMINAL A Chamber Opera Music by Dustin Peters | Libretto by Sky Gilbert Starring Marion Newman, Dion Mazerolle and Nathaniel Bacon April 26-28, 2019 Orpheus Productions will present three performances of a workshop presentation of Shakespeare’s Criminal, a new chamber opera with music by Dustin Peters and libretto by Sky Gilbert, starring Marion Newman, Dion Mazerolle and Nathaniel Bacon, April 26-28, 2019 at Factory. Shakespeare’s Criminal is an opera in one act about an older male poet named Shakespeare who is not able to admit that…

OTELLO Giuseppe Verdi APRIL 27 TO MAY 21, 2019 Otello is a self-made man, a former slave risen to the rank of general and now in love with a devoted wife, Desdemona. But his trusted advisor Iago begins to manipulate Otello in a relentless quest to destroy the general. Consumed by paranoia and suspicion, Otello’s earnest love for Desdemona takes a violent turn with catastrophic consequences. Verdi’s masterful treatment of Shakespeare’s tragedy is brought to life by a dream cast of COC favourites in…

Shanawdithit is a landmark Canadian-Indigenous world premiere, opening in Toronto, May 16-25, 2019. Following three seasons of award-winning world premieres, Tapestry is proud to collaborate and raise an artistic platform for Indigenous artists to tell this vital Beothuk story to a contemporary public. Music by Dean Burry | Libretto by Yvette Nolan CAST: Shanawdithit – Marion Newman (Kwagiulth and Stó:lō) Cormack – Clarence Frazer Peyton, Man 1, Spirit Chorus – Asitha Tennekoon Kwe/Spirit chorus – Rebecca Cuddy (Métis) Spirit chorus/Mother – Deantha Edmunds (Inuk) Simms/Man…

Opera by Request presents Verdi’s Nabucco, in concert with piano accompaniment, Saturday, June 1, 7:30 pm, Christ Church UCC, 1700 Mazo Crescent, Mississauga.  All tickets $20.00.  Phone 416 455-2365 for reservations and information. Nabucco………………….Gene Wu, baritone Abigaille…………………..Cristina Pisani, soprano Zaccaria…………………..Dylan Wright, bass-baritone Ismaele……………………Cian Horrobin, tenor Fenena…………………….Meghan Symon, mezzo-soprano William Shookhoff, pianist and music director Details, here.

The fire and passion of the bolero, seguidilla and flamenco conjure an exotic vision of Spain and Latin America… dazzling entertainment in a whole new dimension!

TURANDOT Giacomo Puccini SEPTEMBER 28 TO OCTOBER 27, 2019 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Performance time is approximately two hours and 25 minutes, including one intermission. CAST AND CREATIVE TEAMS   Conductor Carlo Rizzi Director, Design, and Lighting Concept Robert Wilson Co-Director Nicola Panzer Assistant Directors Fani Sarantari & Marilyn Gronsdal Co-Set Designer Stephanie Engeln Costume Designer Jacques Reynaud Assistant Costume Designer Davide Boni Co-Lighting Designers John Torres Make-up Designer Manu Halligan Dramaturg José Enrique Macián Video Artist Tomek Jeziorski Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst Production Consultant Richard Lee Turandot Tamara Wilson/Marjorie Owens* Calaf Sergey…

Opera by Request hosts OperOttawa in Bizet’s Pearl Fishers, Friday, October 4, 7:30pm, College St. United Church, 452 College St. (Bathurst).  All tickets $20.00.  For reservations and information phone 416 455-2365. Leila……………..Cristina Pisani, soprano Nadir…………….Robert Martin, tenor Zurga…………….Norman E. Brown, baritone Nourabad……..John Holland, baritone Claire Harris, piano

#AtGBoheme — A modern love story sung in English. At a bar. The AtG production that started it all, and uprooted opera from the opera house. Our modern adaptation and English translation of the Puccini classic shifted the tale of struggling artists to the present-day, and unfolded entirely inside a historic dive bar in the heart of Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood. This fall, we tour the fully-staged remount of our acclaimed, groundbreaking English “transladaptation” of the Puccini classic. Presenting to between Banff and…

RUSALKA Antonín Dvořák OCTOBER 12 TO OCTOBER 26, 2019 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Performance time is approximately three hours and 30 minutes, including two intermissions. CAST AND CREATIVE TEAMS Conductor Johannes Debus Director David McVicar Set Designer John Macfarlane Costume Designer Moritz Junge Lighting Designer David Finn Choreographer Andrew George Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst Rusalka Sondra Radvanovsky Vodník Štefan Kocán Ježibaba Elena Manistina Prince Pavel Cernoch Foreign Princess Keri Alkema First Wood Nymph Anna-Sophie Neher Second Wood Nymph Jamie Groote Third Wood Nymph Lauren Segal Gamekeeper Matthew Cairns Turnspit Lauren Eberwein Hunter Vartan Gabrielian

A story of the tragic impermanence of love as seen through the eyes of a nymph and shepherd, Acis and Galatea is the most famous of Handel’s dramatic works. The brilliant tenor Isaiah Bell, a graduate from the Historical Performance area, stage directs with the esteemed violinist and educator Larry Beckwith leading musicians from the Collegium Musicum and Schola Cantorum. Isaiah Bell, stage director Larry Beckwith, conductor

Alluring and magical, an enchanted world leads a young child to a vision of our shared humanity, while defective grandfather clocks teach their own lessons reflecting the comedic frustrations of life. Featuring Suzy Smith, Music Director and Pianist Robert Cooper, Chorus Director Danlie Rae Acebuque Holly Chaplin Joshua Clemenger Diana Di Mauro Anika-France Forget Edward Larocque Kyle Merrithew Meghan Symon

Don’t miss this outrageous comedy of an incorrigible young playboy who blazes a path to his own destruction in a single day. Firmly grounded in the tradition of the Italian commedia dell’arte, this glittering new production took Toronto by storm in 2011. Join us for our first revival – starring Douglas Williams as Don Giovanni – in the gorgeous Ed Mirvish Theatre. STARRING Colin Ainsworth, Gustav Andreassen, Mireille Asselin, Stephen Hegedus, Carla Huhtanen, Olivier Laquerre, Meghan Lindsay, Douglas Williams. ‍…

Students from The Glenn Gould School’s vocal program present Jonathan Dove’s Siren Song, with libretto by Nick Dear, led by Music Director Peter Tiefenbach. The 70-minute work for five singers, an actor, and an orchestra of 10 players is a bizarre, true story of a young sailor who exchanges letters with a beautiful and successful model. Over time a romantic and passionate relationship develops, but a meeting proves increasingly difficult to arrange. This performance contains strong language and adult situations and may…

Cast List Violetta Valéry, a courtesan Natalya Gennadi Alfredo Germont, a young bourgeois Kijong Wi Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father Diego Catala

Students from The Glenn Gould School’s vocal program present Jonathan Dove’s Siren Song, with libretto by Nick Dear, led by Music Director Peter Tiefenbach. The 70-minute work for five singers, an actor, and an orchestra of 10 players is a bizarre, true story of a young sailor who exchanges letters with a beautiful and successful model. Over time a romantic and passionate relationship develops, but a meeting proves increasingly difficult to arrange. This performance contains strong language and adult situations and may…

On Friday, November 8, 2019 Tongue in Cheek Productions will join forces with Opera 5 to present Eight Singers Drinking at Gallery 345. In this concert, singers will each sing a set of songs inspired by a cocktail. These drinks will be freshly prepared by the skilled mixologists of Opera 5 and Tongue in Cheek Productions, and each of the “drinking singers” will be required to finish their drinks by the end of their sets. The audience will have the opportunity to enjoy their choice…

he Marriage of Figaro, one of the most beloved operas in the entire repertory, remains the benchmark against which all other comic operas are measured. In 1946, Mozart’s masterpiece was the first complete opera presented at the University of Toronto. We are excited to present this new period production sung in Italian, designed by Fred Perruzza with costumes by Lisa Magill. Michael Patrick Albano directs and Sandra Horst conducts. Opera Talk, a pre-performance lecture, will be given half an hour…

Against the Grain Theatre's classic adaptation of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro saw Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto modernized, translated into English and re-staged as one of Toronto’s millennial weddings in the historic Enoch Turner Schoolhouse with the audience attending as wedding guests. The original 2013 production comes complete with ushers, a string quartet, and all the usual vows, tears, and hilarity. Sung in English. English libretto by Joel Ivany.

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAMS Conductor Speranza Scappucci Original Director Joan Font Set & Costume Designer Joan Guillén Lighting Designer Albert Faura Choreographer Xevi Dorca Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst   Figaro Vito Priante Rosina Emily D’Angelo Almaviva Santiago Ballerini Bartolo Renato Girolami Basilio Brandon Cedel Berta Simona Genga Fiorello Joel Allison Officer Vartan Gabrielian

HARRIET TUBMAN: WHEN I CROSSED THAT LINE TO FREEDOM is a two act opera that tells of how a young girl born in slavery, becomes Harriet Tubman, the legendary Underground Railroad conductor. Based on recent Tubman biographies, the story is told in the context of Tubman’s tight-knit family of lively characters. HARRIET TUBMAN carries the universal themes of sisterhood, courage, sacrifice and doing what is necessary to keep a family together. Moreover it is a heartwarming tale of two sisters…