Opera 2023 Participants and Faculty

Lesley s’enthousiasme à l’idée de passer du temps dans les montagnes cet été, alors qu’elle reviendra au Centre des arts de Banff comme directrice de la compagnie dans le cadre du programme L’opéra. Active dans le monde de l’opéra depuis 25 ans, principalement comme régisseuse de plateau, elle a pris plaisir à travailler régulièrement pour la Compagnie d’opéra canadienne, l’École Glenn Gould, Against the Grain Theatre et Tapestry Opera. Au nombre de ses productions « coup de cœur », notons Tosca (COC), Svadba (EGG), Figaro’s Wedding (AtG) et Shanawdithit (Tapestry). Elle a aussi aimé assurer la régie pour la Canadian Children’s Opera Company, l’École d’opéra de l’Université de Toronto, Opera Columbus et le Centre des arts de Banff.  
 

Soprano Christina Bell is in demand across North America for Concert, Opera, and Oratorio.  She recently made her debut with Toronto City Opera in the title role of Susannah and sang the role of Paquette in Candide with the North York Concert Orchestra.  A graduate from University of Toronto with a Diploma in Operatic Performance, Christina sang the roles of Mrs. Baggett in Footsteps in Campbell House, Lady with a Cake Box in Dominick Argentos’ Postcard from Morocco, Lady Billows in Brittens’ Albert Herring, Donatella in Encouters, as well as being a part of Last Days, a new production with Tim Albery and David Fallis.  

Over the years Christina has attended the Mainstage/Ensemble Programs at Opera on the Avalon, The Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, Halifax Summer Opera Festival, St. Andrews Summer Opera Workshop.  Other recent operatic performances include Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Liliana in Miracle Flight 571 with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Portia in Le marchand de Venise, Cousin Hebe from Gilbert & Sullivans’ HMS Pinafore, Mrs.Grose in The Turn of the Screw, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Helena in Brittens’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

Christina has been a member of the Canadian Opera Company Chorus since 2015 and when she is not on a stage, she can be found exploring her passion for arts administration and management.  She is the Opera & Public Events Administrator at the University of Toronto and in 2023 took on the role of the Company Manager for the Banff Centre: Opera in the 21st Century & Interplay Programs.

Elizabeth Bowman was appointed as Editor-In-Chief of Opera Canada magazine in May 2022. Before moving to the editorial side, she founded and ran Bowman Media, a boutique communications firm with a special focus on the arts for over a decade with clients that included the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conductor James Gaffigan, soprano Joyce El-Khoury, mezzo soprano Wallis Giunta, and more. The firm focused on public relations, design, branding, marketing, and social media strategy. She was the Executive Assistant to the General Director (Alexander Neef) and Board Administrator of the Canadian Opera Company from 2008-2010. She holds a post-graduate diploma in Arts Administration and Cultural Management and a Bachelor of Music.

Dorian Cox is a cultural leader and arts presenter based in Toronto with a focus on relationship building, civic engagement, and equity-seeking practices. He was recently named as Director of the Ensemble Studio at the Canadian Opera Company after serving as manager for the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, where he programmed and presented 275 performances (including 17 world premieres) and produced 22 digital performances. Dorian has previously held positions at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Royal Conservatory of Music, Interlochen Centre for the Arts, Boston Conservatory (MMus), and University of Toronto (BMus Hon).

As a musician, he has performed in nearly every major concert hall in Canada, as well as across the United States and in Europe. Dorian has been awarded grants and scholarships from the Williamson Foundation for Music, Avedis Zildjian Company, Boston Conservatory, and University of Toronto. He was invited to serve as a preliminary juror for the 20th edition of the Concours musical international de Montreal and as guest faculty for Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre.

Anna is thrilled to be working on this project. She lives in amiskwacîwâskahikan, known as Edmonton, AB. Her recent Edmonton Opera credits include: Stage Manager for Stabat Mater, Tosca and Cosi Fan Tutte. Her recent ASM credits include: Orphée+, La Boheme, Candide (cancelled), Rigoletto, The Misadventures of Count Ory, Hansel & Gretel, Electra, La Cenerentola, and Turandot at Edmonton Opera and The Fiancée at the Citadel Theatre.  She has worked as a stage manager and ASM in Edmonton since graduating from the Theatre Production Program at MacEwan in 2007. Anna also works as an IATSE Local 210 theatre technician

Danielle lived in Berlin, Germany for three years working on immersive, experimental, and site-specific theatre at the Schaubühne, Deutsches Theatre, and Ballhaus Ost. Upon returning to Montreal, she worked at Le Grand Costumier, deepening her knowledge of period costumes and focused on assisting costume designers long-distance in Toronto and Vancouver. Danielle has been working within the film industry for the last three years as a Costumer, Background Costume Coordinator, and Assistant Designer for films such as “U.S. vs Billie Holiday,” “Pet Sematary 1969,” and “Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation.” Danielle also works as Fibre Artist and seamstress and mounted a costume and photography exhibition in both Montreal and Toronto titled “Unravelling,” depicting mental health struggles represented in various wearable art pieces.

Danielle recently finished her contract as assistant costume designer at the Stratford Festival for “Richard II.” Danielle has a BFA in Art History and Film Studies from Concordia University. Danielle has been looking forward to working in Opera and Dance and is thrilled to be part of this production.

Ténor et professeur de chant américain, Jason Ferrante a été décrit par Opera News comme chantant « une tempête de style » et comme « l’une des meilleures voix que j’aie entendues depuis très longtemps »  par Gayle Williams  dans le Sarasota Herald Tribune. Au cours des deux dernières saisons, on l’a entendu incarner Beadle Bamford dans une nouvelle production de Sweeney Todd par Opera Omaha, Don Basilio et Don Curzio dans Le Nozze di Figaro à l’Opéra de la Virginie et à l’Opéra de Knoxville, le « quatrième Juif » dans Salome avec l’Opéra de Tulsa, qu’en concert avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Palm Beach comme ténor soliste dans le Requiem de Mozart sous la direction de Gerard Schwarz. Il a incarné plus de 80 rôles sur la scène de l’opéra et s’est produit comme soliste avec des orchestres de premier plan, dont ceux de Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Juilliard, et des orchestres symphoniques nationaux. En plus de cumuler deux décennies d’expérience de scène, Jason Ferrante est devenu l’un des professeurs de chant les plus recherchés du monde de l’opéra, enseignant à des professionnels qui se produisent sur les scènes du monde ainsi qu’à des chanteurs participant aux programmes de formation de compagnies d’opéra du Minnesota, de Pensacola, de Nashville, de Portland, de Wolf Trap et d’Arizona, ainsi que du Brevard Opera Institute. Il fait régulièrement partie du jury du Concours Laffont du Metropolitan Opera et dirige le département de chant classique de YoungArts.

Sandra Horst est la directrice des études musicales de la division de l’opéra au Banff Centre, cadre dans lequel elle a dirigé L’elisir d’amore de Donizetti, La voix humaine et Les mamelles de Tiresias de Poulenc, Hansel and Gretel de Humperdinck, L’enfant et les sortilèges de Debussy, L’heure espagnole de Ravel et Taptoo! de John Beckwith. Sandra Horst est également chef de chœur de la Compagnie d’opéra canadienne, et conseillère en matière d’auditions à l’Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. L’Université Wilfrid Laurier l’a sélectionnée parmi ses « 100 Alumni of Achievement » (100 anciens élèves s’étant démarqués par leurs réalisations); elle est également juge aux auditions du Conseil national du Metropolitan Opera. Ancienne chef de chœur de l’Opera Theatre of Saint Louis et de l’Opéra d’Edmonton, elle a aussi travaillé avec le Juilliard Opera Center, l’école de chant du Chautauqua Institute, l’Opéra lyrique de Boston, l’Opéra de la Saskatchewan, Opera Ontario et le Banff Centre des arts et de la créativité. Elle a animé l’émission « This is My Music » à la radio anglaise de Radio-Canada, et a joué des récitals diffusés à Radio-Canada et à la chaîne radio WGBH (Nouvelle-Angleterre).

Joel Ivany — qui a été décrit comme « l’enfant pas si terrible de l’opéra au Canada » — est reconnu pour sa capacité de repousser les limites de l’opéra. En 2010, il a fondé, à Toronto, la compagnie d’opéra Against the Grain Theatre, à laquelle il continue de consacrer du temps. Il a adapté et traduit plus de 10 opéras présentés dans des lieux inattendus, et a été qualifié de « héros des arts » par le Globe and Mail en 2020 pour son travail de réalisation pour le film numérique loué par la critique Messiah/Complex, une adaptation du Messie de Händel. Joel Ivany a également mis en scène 50 productions pour des compagnies d’opéra des quatre coins de l’Amérique du Nord et de l’Europe, dont la Compagnie d’opéra canadienne, l’Opéra de Vancouver et l’Opéra du Minnesota.

Two time Juno nominated artist, Miriam Khalil has established herself as one of Canada’s most versatile and expressive performers. She has become increasingly known for her non traditional performances of opera, art song and concert repertoire. 

She has appeared on numerous opera stages across North America and Europe, including a stint at the renowned Glyndebourne Festival Opera (GFO) in the United Kingdom. An alumna of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, she won first place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Great Lakes Region) and subsequently appeared in the 2007 documentary The Audition. Her performance credits include Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Tampa, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Opera Hamilton, Against the Grain Theatre (AtG), Edmonton Opera,, Calgary Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Lyra Ottawa, and prominent orchestras across Canada and the US, in roles such as Mimì (La bohème), Léila (Les Pêcheurs de Perles), Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Governess (The Turn of the Screw), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Almirena (Rinaldo), and the title role in Alcina. 

She is a proud founding member and Artistic Advisor of the Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning chamber opera company Against the Grain Theatre (AtG). With vision and dedication, AtG explores different and innovative ways of presenting opera to new and familiar audiences. Miriam is delighted to help shape “one of the most important opera companies in Canada” (Calgary Herald). She also recently joined the Voice Faculty at the University  of Alberta and is very excited to be working with the next generation of singing artists and creators.

Mary Kouyoumdjian is a composer and documentarian with projects ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she uses a sonic palette that draws on her heritage, interest in music as documentary, and background in experimental composition to progressively blend the old with the new. A strong believer in freedom of speech and the arts as an amplifier of expression, her compositional work often integrates recorded testimonies with resilient individuals and field recordings of place to invite empathy by humanizing complex experiences around social and political conflict. Kouyoumdjian has received commissions for the New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beth Morrison Projects/OPERA America, Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can, International Contemporary Ensemble, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Roomful of Teeth among others. Her work has been featured internationally at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MASS MoCA, the Barbican Centre, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Millennium Park, Benaroya Hall, Prototype Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Big Ears Festival, Cal Performances, Tribeca Film Festival, and PBS. Kouyoumdjian holds a D.M.A. and M.A. in Composition at Columbia University, an M.A. in Scoring for Film & Multimedia from New York University, and a B.A. in Composition from UC San Diego. Kouyoumdjian is a cofounder of the annual new music conference New Music Gathering and is an Assistant Professor of Composition at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and a Lecturer in Music at Columbia University.

www.marykouyoumdjian.com
 

Holly Kroeker, qui vit à Montréal (QC), est une coach vocale en opéra, une pianiste accompagnatrice et une répétitrice recherchée. Ayant récemment terminé le programme de formation pour jeunes artistes de l’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal (2018-2021), elle y travaille présentement comme pianiste et assistante à la formation.

Durant la saison 2021-2022, elle aura travaillé entre autres comme pianiste-répétitrice principale pour le programme double Riders to the Sea/Le Flambeau de la nuit de Vaughn Williams/Tanguay-Labrosse (Opéra de Montréal), Les Pêcheurs de perles de Bizet (Jeunesses musicales du Canada), Cosi Fan Tutte (Opéra d’Edmonton) et Die Zauberflöte (Opéra de Montréal). L’été dernier, Holly Kroeker a été pianiste au sein du corps enseignant de l’Institut canadien d’art vocal (ICAV) à Montréal. Auparavant, elle a été pianiste-coach-stagiaire au programme L’opéra au XXIe siècle du Centre des arts de Banff, où elle a travaillé sur les productions de Silent Night de Prestini/Vavrek et Candide de Bernstein.

En 2018-2019, elle a été pianiste dans l’orchestre de chambre accompagnant The Turn of the Screw (Orchestre de l’Agora) et dans l’orchestre accompagnant l’opéra La scala di seta de Rossini (Orchestre symphonique de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent); elle a également été pianiste-répétitrice pour Cabaret Bel Canto! (Orchestre de l’Agora), et Grands opéras : gala (Orchestre symphonique de Laval). Au cours de saisons passées, elle a travaillé comme assistante pianiste répétitrice pour Eugène Onéguine et Lucia di Lammermoor (Opéra de Montréal), A Broadway Evening (Aramusique), Soirée à l’opérette (Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil) et 27 (Atelier lyrique), ainsi que comme pianiste répétitrice du chœur pour Champion (Opéra de Montréal).

Elle a participé au programme pour jeunes artistes Yulanda M. Faris à l’Opéra de Vancouver, où elle a été assistante pianiste pour L’Elisir d’amore et Eugene Onegin (Opéra de Vancouver) et pianiste principale pour Requiem for a Lost Girl (Opéra de Vancouver/Kettle Society).

Le baryton canadien Elliot Madore a été loué pour sa « présence digne d’une vedette de cinéma » (Merkur) et son talent artistique « exceptionnel » (New York Times). Durant la saison 2017-2018, il fait un retour sur la scène de l’Opéra de San Francisco pour la première de Girls of the Golden West de John Adams, dans une mise en scène de Peter Sellars, et il incarnera Germano dans La scala di seta à l’Opéra de Zurich. Il fera son premier concert avec l’Orchestre philharmonique de Berlin dans le rôle du chat et de l’horloge comtoise dans L’enfant et les sortilèges de Ravel sous la direction de Seiji Ozawa, avec la Bremen Kammerphilharmonie dans Pelléas et Melisande sous la direction de Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, et avec l’Orchestre philharmonique de Los Angeles, où il chantera les airs de Papageno sous la baguette de Gustavo Dudamel. Il fera un retour au Festival de musique de Tanglewood pour chanter l’une des voix de Songfest de Bernstein avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Boston. 
Il a fait ses débuts à l’Opéra d’État de Bavière (Bayerische Staatsoper) dans son rôle fétiche, le Pelléas du Pelléas et Melisande de Debussy, dans une nouvelle production de cet opéra présentée au Prinzregententheater. Il a chanté Pelleas avec le Cleveland Orchestra (direction : Franz Welser-Möst), à l’Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges (direction : Robert Tuohy), et avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Sydney (direction : Charles Dutoit). Il a incarné Figaro dans Le barbier de Séville et Mercutio dans la nouvelle production de Roméo et Juliette dirigée par Gianandrea Noseda au Metropolitan Opera, qui a été diffusée en haute définition dans le monde entier. En plus du prestigieux prix qu’il a gagné aux Auditions du Conseil national du Metropolitan Opera, Elliot Madore a reçu en 2010 le prix George London, décerné à un chanteur canadien par la Fondation George London, et a été lauréat du prix ARIAS (jeune artiste émergent) d’Opera Canada. Elliot Madore est diplômé du Curtis Institute of Music où il a étudié avec Marlena Malas.

Recipient of the 2020 Musical America Award for Artist of the Year/Agent of Change and a Kennedy Center 50NEXT Honoree (2022), Beth Morrison is an opera-theatre producer and the President and Creative Producer of Beth Morrison Projects.  Morrison is noted as a “contemporary opera mastermind” (LA Times) and “a powerhouse leading the industry to new heights” (WQXR).  Beth created Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) in 2006 to identify and support the work of emerging and established living composers, and to change the opera industry by cultivating a new generation of talent and telling the stories of our time.  BMP has commissioned, developed, produced and toured over 60 works in 19 countries around the world, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning chamber operas Angel’s Bone (Du Yun/ Royce Vavrek) and p r i s m (Ellen Reid/Roxie Perkins).  Opera News has noted, “More than any other figure in the opera industry, Beth Morrison has helped propel the art form into the twenty-first century." In 2013, Beth co-founded the PROTOTYPE Festival, which has become “essential to the evolution of American opera” (New Yorker).  Morrison is also in demand as a speaker both nationally and internationally and has delivered key note speeches for Classical:Next, Opera America, Opera Europa, Mannes School of Music/ The New School, among others. Morrison holds a Bachelor of Music from Boston University, a Master of Music from Arizona State University, and an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

Mexican-American bass-baritone, Richard Ollarsaba, praised by The Washington Post for his “meltingly smooth bass-baritone” and for “evoking a young Ruggero Raimondi in looks and manner”, represented the USA in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, was a member of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago and a grand finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Previous credits include the title role in Don Giovanni with Opera Hong Kong, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Carolina, and Lyric Opera of Chicago stepping-in to the role on hours’ notice, Escamillo in Carmen with the Glimmerglass Festival, Portland Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kentucky Opera, Minnesota Opera, North Carolina Opera, and Tulsa Opera, in Le nozze di Figaro in the role of Figaro with New Zealand Opera and Minnesota Opera and in the role of Count Almaviva with Virginia Opera and Knoxville Opera.

In addition to performances on the operatic stage, Mr. Ollarsaba appears regularly in concert and recital. Fall ’22 he premiered the self-curated recital “Neighbors Abroad, Family At Home” highlighting composers from Mexico and the USA. Concert credits include Bernstein’s Songfest with the Ravinia Festival, bass soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Master Chorale of South Florida and the Salisbury Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Macon Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale of South Florida, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy in his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. That concert was a gala celebration of the venerable festival’s 75th birthday and was telecast nationally on PBS.

Alan Pierson a été qualifié de « chef dynamique et visionnaire musical » par le New York Times, de « jeune chef doté d’un talent monstrueux » par Newsday, a été décrit comme « talentueux et électrisant » par le Boston Globe et désigné comme « l’une des personnalités les plus emballantes de la musique contemporaine aujourd’hui » par Fanfare. Il est le directeur artistique et le chef de l’ensemble renommé Alarm Will Sound, dont le New York Times a dit qu’il était « le futur de la musique classique » et que le New Yorker a décrit comme « une force sensationnelle » et comme ayant « de puissantes idées sur les manières de renouveler l’expérience du concert ». Alan Pierson a été le directeur artistique et le chef de l’Orchestre philharmonique de Brooklyn. Sa direction de cet orchestre a été qualifiée de « véritablement inspirante » par le New York Times et de « remarquablement innovante, peut-être même révolutionnaire » par Alex Ross, journaliste du New Yorker.

Alla Salakhova is a mezzo-soprano entering her final year of the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance program at the University of Alberta. She was the University of Alberta student finalist in Edmonton Opera’s inaugural Rumbold Vocal Prize. This season, she performed Le Nozze di Figaro excerpts with The University Symphony Orchestra and the roles of Peterman in Monsieur Choufleuri and Ruth (cover) in The Pirates of Penzance (UofA Opera Theatre). Recent credits also include The Secretary in The Consul and Drusilla in L'incoronazione di Poppea (Opera NUOVA) for which she was praised by Opera Canada for having the “presence of a seasoned performer”. Other selected credits include Mrs. Northwind in the Canadian premiere of The Enchanted Pig, and Spirit 1 in The Magic Flute (Edmonton Opera). Alla is a member of the Edmonton Opera Chorus and was fortunate to perform in Tosca, Home for the Holidays, and Orphée+ this past season. With the support from the Association for Opera in Canada’s Opera Artist Resilience (OAR) Program, she was also able to role-study the titular role of Orphée as well as gain experience in administration through a mentorship with Edmonton Opera. In addition to her passion for performing, she is always looking for opportunities to grow her knowledge of the Opera industry in all sectors. In Alla’s free time, you can find her drinking coffee, going on walks in Edmonton’s River Valley, and spending time with her cat, Sam (a.k.a. Samantha, Sammy, and Salmon). 

La musique de Daniel Schlosberg, compositeur, pianiste et chef d’orchestre qui vit à Brooklyn, a été jouée par le quatuor Dover, l’Orchestre du Minnesota, le Trinity Wall Street Choir, et les orchestres symphoniques de Nashville et d’Albany, dans des lieux comme le Carnegie Hall, Le Poisson Rouge (NY), le Royal Albert Hall (Londres), le Beijing Modern Music Festival, et le Festival of Disruption de David Lynch. Elle a aussi fait l’objet d’articles du New York Times et a été diffusée à l’émission Soundcheck du réseau WNYC. Daniel Schlosberg a reçu la bourse Charles Ives de l’American Academy of Arts and Letters et deux prix Morton Gould de l’ASCAP. Il a composé et dirigé des ensembles au Soho Repertory Theater, au Public Theater (NY), au Festival de théâtre de Williamstown, au Baryshnikov Arts Center et à Playwrights Horizons. Au nombre de ses projets de composition et de direction récents  figurent A Boys' Company Presents: Tell Me If I'm Hurting You  de Jeremy O. Harris (été 2023), Only an Octave Apart d’Anthony Roth Costanzo et Justin Vivian Bond (Wilton’s Music Hall, Londres, octobre 2022) et au Festival de Spoleto (juin 2023), et The Extinctionist, un nouvel opéra composé pour Heartbeat Opera (première au printemps 2024). Daniel Schlosberg est le directeur musical de Heartbeat Opera, pour qui il a signé des orchestrations radicales d’opéra classiques dont l’ingéniosité a été louée par le Wall Street Journal. En plus de ses collaborations avec Angel Blue, Ariana DeBose, Ben Stiller, Tony Kushner, Anthony McGill et Imani Winds, Daniel Schlosberg a été pianiste sur la trame sonore primée (Grammy) du film West Side Story de Steven Spielberg, et soliste de la production de Only an Octave Apart avec l’Orchestre philharmonique de New York.

Frances Armstrong, originally from Surrey, British Columbia, grew up in a musical family where she showed great promise in both her piano playing and singing from a young age. She had a particular affinity for collaborating with singers and string players, and began accompanying and playing in chamber ensembles when she was just thirteen years old. She holds a Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Toronto, where she studied with esteemed Canadian pianist Steven Philcox, and she also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance with Distinction from the University of Victoria. Frances has studied a broad range of repertoire with internationally renowned artists at summer intensive programs such as the Franz Schubert Institute, Toronto Summer Music, and the Music Academy of the West. She has also completed rigorous training as an apprentice coach at both l’Opéra de Montréal, and the Canadian Opera Company. Frances is in high demand as a collaborator and coach across Canada, having served as Head Coach at Edmonton Opera for two seasons, and she is invited back as a regular collaborator with City Opera Vancouver, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Highlands Opera Studio. She is known for her intuitive and sensitive playing, and she enjoys a diverse career as a performer, coach, and repetiteur. When she is not busy with music, she can be found enjoying a quiet life by the Pacific Ocean on Gabriola Island, British Columbia.

Jennifer Tung, chef d’orchestre sino-canadienne qui est directrice artistique du Toronto City Opera et chef adjointe de l’Orchestre symphonique de Mississauga, mène une carrière exceptionnellement diversifiée en tant que directrice musicale et pianiste. En 2020-2021, elle s’est jointe à Tapestry Opera comme chef d’orchestre boursière durant l’année inaugurale du programme Women in Musical Leadership qui a été lancé en partenariat avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Toronto et Pacific Opera Victoria. Durant sa participation à ce programme, Jennifer Tung a dirigé la première mondiale de Gould’s Wall (en nomination pour un prix Dora) de Brian Current avec Tapestry Opera, ainsi qu’une toute nouvelle production d’Orfeo ed Euridice de Gluck présentée par l’Opéra de Vancouver, en collaboration avec la compagnie Ne. Sans Opera and Dance.

En 2017, Jennifer Tung a été pour la première fois chef d’orchestre au Hawaii Performing Arts Festival (The Mikado de Gilbert et Sullivan). Elle y a par la suite dirigé Sweeney Todd de Stephen Sondheim et la Tragedy of Carmen de Peter Brook. En 2019, elle a dirigé La Traviata pour Opera York et elle a été chef adjointe pour l’opéra Shanawdithit de Dean Burry et Yvette Nolan (qui a mérité un prix Dora) pour Tapestry Opera et Opera on the Avalon.

Enseignante recherchée de divers programmes de formation internationaux, elle fait partie du corps enseignant de la prestigieuse École Glenn Gould de Toronto. Elle est diplômée en interprétation (chant) et en piano d’accompagnement de l’Eastman School of Music, et elle étudie la direction d’orchestre avec Denis Mastromonaco.
 

Royce Vavrek est un librettiste et parolier canadien dont l’opéra Angel’s Bone, mis en musique par la compositrice Du Yun, a gagné le prix Pulitzer de la musique en 2017. Royce Vavrek est connu pour ses nombreuses collaborations avec des compositeurs, dont David T. Little (Dog Days, Am I Born, JFK), Missy Mazzoli (Song from the Uproar, Breaking the Waves, Proving Up), Ricky Ian Gordon (27, The House Without a Christmas Tree) et Paola Prestini (The Hubble Cantata). Royce Vavrek est également codirecteur artistique de The Coterie, une compagnie d’opéra-théâtre qui a été fondée par la soprano Lauren Worsham. Il a étudié à l’Université Concordia (Montréal) et à l’Université de New York. Il aussi participé au programme de perfectionnement pour les compositeurs et librettistes de l’American Lyric Theater.

Imogen is a Toronto-based Lighting Designer who has designed with The Stratford Festival, Canadian Stage, Crows Theatre, Against the Grain, Summerworks, and Toronto Dance Theatre. Imogen has also worked as an assistant lighting designer for Mirvish, Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, Musical, and Canadian Stage. She is also a scenic painter, proud member of ADC 659, and loves to go for a canoe at sunset. 

Founded by like-minded musicians with a passion for the future of chamber music, Silvana was born with the natural ease of a flower blooming in Harlem. The instant chamber music chemistry was undeniable and the telepathic communication required by string quartet playing came effortlessly. The passionate energy of Silvana is palpable to the audience and draws each person in, connecting both performers and listeners in a unique experience.

https://www.silvanaquartet.com/
 

Sara  Hahn - Flute
Aidan Dugan - Oboe
Jocelyn Colquhoun - Clarinet
Stan Climie -  Clarinet 
Michael Hope - Bassoon
Heather Wooton - Horn
Boris Bontchev - Horn
Miranda Canonico - Trumpet
Dave Reid - Bass Trombone
Malcolm Lim - Timpani
Donovan Seidle - Violin - Concertmaster
Edmund Chung - Violin
Adriana Lebedovich - Violin - Mandolin
Lidia Lee - Violin
Janna Sailor - Violin
Keith Hamm - Viola
Arthur Bachmann - Viola 
Julie Heirish - Cello
Danny Poceta - Cello
Patrick Staples - Bass

Jamal Al Titi is a Belarusian-born baritone whose passion for music expands from early works to opera. He now makes his home in Canada, and he is a recent bachelor’s voice performance graduate from the University of Toronto, having studied with Wendy Nielsen. During his final year as an undergraduate, Jamal won the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song, the Faculty of Music’s most prestigious vocal prize, and was honoured to receive the 2023 faculty’s top honour award. 

Additionally, Jamal achieved to be a winner of the Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition in 2023 and among the 2022 National Audition finalist of L’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. Passionate about opera, Jamal has been featured numerous times with Brott Opera Festival. His roles have included Masetto in Don Giovanni, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Casacada in The Merry Widow. 

Jamal began his studies at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts with Roland Fix. Jamal plans to continue performing as much as possible and wishes to sing to his heart’s content to captivate his audience while appreciating the magic of the music.
 

This artist is generously supported by The Eileen Higgin Calgary Theatre Singers Endowment and The Harold Douglas Brown Endowment.

Julia Dawson is a Canadian soprano whose dynamic performances have earned her praise from Opera News as "radiant and riveting" and from the New York Times as "spitfire." She has been recognised with the George London Award for a Canadian singer and the Anny-Schlemm-Preis from Oper Frankfurt.
From 2015 to 2019, Dawson honed her craft as a member of Oper Frankfurt's opera studio and solo ensemble, appearing in leading roles. She has also performed with notable orchestras and companies such as the Munich Philharmonic, and the French Radio Symphony, Opera San Jose, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and Opera Lafayette.
Combining her love of contemporary and classical music, Dawson recently conceived and performed in the musical film "Obscura Nox," which features Mozart's "Exsultate, jubilate" and new commissions from Iranian-Canadian composer Iman Habibi. The film was selected for Opera Philadelphia's O22 Festival and the Canada Shorts Festival.

Dawson has received training at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Rice University, Oberlin Conservatory, the Music Academy of the West, Santa Fe Opera, Aspen Opera Theater Center, and The Glimmerglass Festival. She was nominated for Singer of the Year from the Opus Klassik awards for the album 'Girl in the Snow;' songs by American composer Scott Ordway. She is grateful to have been mentored by artists such as Barbara Hannigan and Marilyn Horne. 

This artist is generously supported by the Ruby Mercer Endowment. 

Harley Elias is an Indian-Iraq Arab-Jewish playwright, librettist, and performer from New York City. He has been the recipient of residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, with Resonance Ensemble, a Fulbright Grant, the Wild Epiphanies New Play Award, two Samuel French OOB Awards, a Young Playwrights Award, and his Play #3 is published by Samuel French. Recent plays include The Handless King (Amphibian Stage, Wild Epiphanies), Thug Play (Resonance Ensemble), The Pardon (Brown University), and 47 Years of Marriage (Samuel French OOB). For the composer Francisco de Guevara he wrote the libretto for the opera 11:35, set to premiere in Mexico City in 2023. The documentary he co-wrote and directed, Reconquest of the Useless, was shown at the Havana, Zurich, Woodstock, and Virginia Film Festivals. As an actor his credits include Les Miserables (Broadway and National Tour), A Thousand Clowns (Broadway), A Christmas Carol (Broadway), Ragtime (National Tour), and work at Goodspeed Opera House, EST, Workhouse, Second Stage, HB Studio, and Soho Rep. He holds a BA and MA in History and Art History from Stanford, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at Brown. He is currently under commission from Miami New Drama and Theater J.

This artist is generously supported by the Virginia Middleberg Fund.

Mishael Eusebio is a dynamic performer whose creativity brings unique interpretations into every project. His recent portrayal of Young Harvey in the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’s world premiere of Harvey Milk Reimagined was recently featured in the summer 2022 edition of Opera America Magazine. No stranger to contemporary opera, he workshopped the role of Navigator (A Space of Sky) for Houston Grand Opera, and created the role of George (The Silver Bullet) which debuted at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust. Other credits in contemporary opera include his debut at l’Opéra de Montréal as Passager (Le Flambeau de la nuit), the cover for Alexandre Rosenberg (La beauté du monde), and Rose’s Fiancé (Awakenings). Semi-finalist in the 2021 Concours OSM, finalist at the 2023 Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques and the 2020 American National Opera Association Competition, winner of the 2019 John C. Erskine Prize, and the Encouragement Award at the 2020 Metropolitan Opera District Auditions, Mishael is a graduate of the Juilliard School and the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.

This artist is generously supported by The Harold Crabtree Foundation Endowment. 

From northeastern Ontario's Lake Temiskaming area, Yanik Gosselin has lived in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) since 2020. He received his BMus from the University of Ottawa and his MMus from McGill University.

In 2022, Yanik participated in Manitoba Opera's Digital Emerging Artist Program. During that program, he created a short musical film, CYCLES, available on YouTube. That same year, he debuted as Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Under the Spire Music Festival (Kensington, PEI),partook in Scotia Festival of Music's young artist program, and participated in Tapestry Opera's New Opera 101 workshop and performed in Songbook XI. Yanik was the tenor soloist in Mozart's Requiem with the Dalhousie Collegium Cantorum this past March. Yanik is particularly interested in the art song repertoire (particularly Schubert and Britten) and 1970s glam and progressive rock. He is passionate about storytelling in all its forms. As a performer and creator, Yanik thrives in collaborative spaces and seeks innovative ways to tell new stories through music while engaging with audiences. He recently received a professional development grant from Arts Nova Scotia to study the interpretation and performance of 17th and 18th-century German repertoire with Dr. Michael Donovan, focusing on innovation and social engagement.

This artist is generously supported by The Annie Romanchuk Endowment and The Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Endowment. 

Praised by the New York Times for her “pristine high notes” and by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “thrilling display of tonal lushness and agility”, Soprano Natalie Image is delighted to be performing Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with the Banff Centre’s Opera in the 21st Century this summer!

Earlier this year Image was in Honolulu, Hawaii making her debut as Adina in The Elixir of Love with Hawaii Opera Theatre. In 2022 she sang in Vancouver Opera’s first Opera in the Park, made her Montréal debut in Salle Bourgie with Concours Musical International de Montréal, and her Dublin, Ireland debut with the Veronica Dunne International Competition. As an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera (SFO), Image performed the roles of Frasquita (Carmen), First Wood Nymph (Rusalka), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) and the Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel). She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 singing excerpts from Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella, and has performed with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra singing Galatea (Acis and Galatea) and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos, with the Victoria Symphony in concert, and, in SFO’s Opera in the Park and The Future is Now concerts featuring the Adler Fellows.

This artist is generously supported by the David Spencer Emerging Vocalists Endowment Fund.

Leanne Kaufman is a Toronto-based soprano. Praised for her “vocal fireworks” (Opera Canada), Leanne has recently made concert debuts of Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem and sung performances of La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), and Musetta (La bohème). Leanne performs regularly with the Canadian Opera Company, covering roles such as Fourth Maid (Elektra) in 2019, and creating roles in the workshops of COC commissions by Canadian composers, most recently works by Ian Cusson and Ana Sokolovic. She has been a member of the COC Chorus since 2018. Originally from Calgary, Leanne holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Music in Opera from the University of Toronto.

This artist is generously supported by the Ontario Artists Fund. 

Evan Korbut is from Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, and Garden River (Robinson Treaty/Crown Treaty 60), traditional home of the Anishinaabe. My father is Anishinaabe and my mother is Ukranian/Finnish/British.

I began studying at Western University in 2007, completed my Bachelor’s degree in music (voice performance) in 2011, and completed my Master’s degree in music (voice) in 2014.
Recent credits include: the world premiere of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe as Jaimie Paul, Fierabras as Roland, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny as Moses, the world premiere of Shanawdithit as Simms/Spirit Chorus, and the world premiere of Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin/Gállábártnit as Hunter/Chorus, The Flight of the Hummingbird as Owl, and Adriana Lecouvreur as Michonnet.

This artist is generously supported by the Ontario Artists Fund.

Francisco Ladrón de Guevara was born in Xalapa, in the state of Veracruz in Mexico.He began studying violin with professor Mikhail Medvid. At age ten he won the Kocian International violin competition - 1st price, being named the youngest ever EMCY (Laurate). At age 12 he emigrated to the US to study at the Julliard School with Dorothy DeLay. Other violin teachers include Hyo Kang and Hyo Kang.

Since a very early age Franisco was interested in composition and began studying composition with Emil Awad. While in the US he studied with Manuel Sosa, Eric Ewazen and Samuel Adler. Since then Francisco has dedicated himslef to composition and considers himself a composers first and foremost.

Having written in all kinds of genres, film music, opera, chamber and symphonies many of Francisco’s works have been performed and recorded. He currently resides in Meixico City.

This artist is generously supported by the Marshall M. Williams Endowment. 

Quebec mezzo-soprano Justine Ledoux is known for the sincerity of her singing, her velvety tone and her extraordinary charisma on stage. She obtained her master’s degree from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and has joined Calgary Opera’s 2022-2024 McPhee Artist Development Program as a young artist.

Operatic roles have included Mercédès in Carmen (G. Bizet); Béatrice and Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict (H. Berlioz); Cendrillon in Cendrillon (J. Massenet), The Stepmother in The Juniper Tree (P. Glass); Dorabella in Così fan tutte (W.A. Mozart). She was recently a laureate for the Prix d’Europe 2023 Competition, taking home the prizes for Best Vocal and Artistic Techniques as well as Best Interpretation of a Work by Canadian Composer André Mathieu. During her 2023-2024 season with Calgary Opera, she will perform, on mainstage, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro (W.A Mozart), as well as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold (R. Wagner). 

This artist is generously supported by the Joyce and David Keith Scholarship for the Arts. 
 

Hailing from Ottawa, bass Matthew Li is currently a resident artist with the Atelier Lyrique at Opéra de Montréal. Favourite operatic highlights include Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea, Il Commissario Imperiale in Madama Butterfly, Le Fauteuil and Un Arbre in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Colline in La Bohème, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Masetto and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. During the 2022-2023 season, Li was proud to create the leading bass role of Xon Pon in Alice Ping Yee Ho’s new opera Chinatown with City Opera Vancouver, which was received with critical acclaim. Concert highlights include the bass solos in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Schütz’s Weihnachtshistorie, Mozart’s Requiem, and Steffani’s Stabat Mater. He recently represented Canada at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition (2023) and was a finalist at the Center Stage Competition with the Canadian Opera Company.

Li is looking forward to returning to the Atelier Lyrique at Opéra de Montréal for the 2023-2024 season, where he will appear as Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro and Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea.
 

This artist is generously supported by the T.C. Hargrave Scholarship in Voice Endowment.
 

Hailing from Chatham, Ontario, tenor Ryan Nauta has been praised as “one to watch” (Le Devoir). 

Ryan is a recent alumnus of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, where he performed selected scenes from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide and Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. Previous roles include Remus in a workshop of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha (Volcano Theatre), First Armoured Man in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Opera McGill), Albert Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring (Opera McGill), and Lysander in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream (Halifax Summer Opera). 

Equally comfortable on the concert stage, Ryan has performed as soloist for Handel’s Messiah (Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal), Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings (L’Oasis Musicale), and various Bach Cantatas (Serenata at St. John’s). Ryan was also heard at the Singing Stars Concert on Toronto’s Classical 96.3 FM. Ryan has been honoured to have received scholarships from the Art Song Foundation of Canada and the Kiwanis Foundation of Canada. 

Ryan holds a Master of Music from McGill University, having been awarded a Graduate Excellence Fellowship, as well as a Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Franz-Schubert-Institut, in Baden, Austria. He currently studies privately with Laura Brooks Rice.

This artist is generously supported by the Barbara and John Poole Memorial Endowment and the Virgina Middleberg Fund.

 Canadian Bass-Baritone Luke Noftall is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto with a Master’s of Music in Opera Performance, as well as a Bachelor of Voice Performance with Honors from the same institution. He currently studies with Wendy Nielsen.

While at the University of Toronto’s Opera school, Luke has been seen as: Mr. Choufleuri in Monsieur Choufleuri, Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Sviliglia , Top in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, Jacques I in A Tale of Two Cities, and the Chorus of Antiquity in a Canadian premiered student composition of Disobedience. Additional credits include Lancelot in Camelot (Red Panda Productions), and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Halifax Summer Opera Festival). As Papageno, Luke was described as a “Star of the Festival. Playful and mercurial, his warm baritone and dynamic interpretation complimented and contrasted effortlessly with his more earnest Tamino” (Opera Canada).

A long admirer of the Banff Centres many exciting works, Luke is extremely excited to be joining The Banff Opera in the 21st Century Program this summer, where he will be playing Masetto in Don Giovanni, as well as Morris in Adoration. Luke is honored to be able to work alongside some of the finest artists and mentors in the Canadian opera.

This artist is generously supported by the Ruby Mercer Endowment. 
 

Pianist Connor O’Kane has established himself as one of Ontario’s most versatile and sought-after emerging artists. A prizewinner at the CMC Stepping Stone, Connor has appeared as a soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony under the baton of Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, and performed in several notable concert series, including Ottawa’s Chamberfest, Lyon’s Tempo Vivace Festival, Western University’s Faculty Concert Series, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society.

Connor’s passion for opera led him to the role of assistant conductor of Western University’s opera program, a position he has held since 2019. During this period, he engaged in the preparation of ten opera productions, including the March 2023 run of Verdi’s Falstaff. As a répétiteur, he has worked with many acclaimed opera conductors including Alain Trudel, Simone Luti, and Tyrone Paterson. Connor holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Western University. His research, which focuses on the piano transcriptions of Sergei Prokofiev, has earned him several grants and scholarships including the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and Canada Graduate Scholarship. Connor’s principal studies were with Stéphan Sylvestre, David Jalbert, Heather Taves, Manuel Schweizer, and Joan Walker.

This artist is generously supported by the George Brough Memorial Endowment. 

Mabel Wonnacott is a Toronto based performer, emerging director and arts administrator. She is the Creative Director for Can of Soup Collective, an indie opera company focused on making opera accessible and creating opportunities for young and emerging artists. Mabel was the assistant stage manager for Opera at Western's 2019-2020 season and has worked as an assistant director under Michael Cavanagh, Allison Grant and Anna Theodosakis. She holds an Honours bachelor's degree in vocal performance from the University of Ottawa as well as a Master's degree in performance and literature, and an artist's diploma from the University of Western Ontario. She will be continuing her studies at the University of Toronto where she will complete a diploma in Operatic stage directing.

Juan Anez – Music Omni Tech

Brendan Briceland - Head of Projection Technology

Carolyn Choo – Head of Props

Luke Dahlgren – Music Production Manager

Curtis Doherty – Video Editor

Ben Ewing – Senior Recording Engineer

Lyle Fish - Head of Sound

Sharon Fish – Assistant Head Stage Carpenter

Matt Flawn - Head of Lighting

Brian Garbet – Interim Audio Technician

Chris Hayes – Scenic Shop Facilitator

Carey Lees – Wardrobe Shops Facilitator

Dave Miller – Interim Head Stage Carpenter

Henry Ng - Audio and Music Technician 

Hiro Oki – Assistant Piano Technician

Albert Picknell - Head Piano Technician 

Jacob Reeves – Assistant Head Stage Carpenter

Donna Sharpe – Performing Arts Stage Manager

Darrell Shaw - Assistant Head of Lighting

Rita Taylor – Photographer

Jake Tkaczyk - Program Manager

Elena Vandakurova – Hair and Make-up Facilitator

Anja Vreeker – Program Delivery Specialist