Opera Canada

The Artist of the Week is Canadian bass Matthew Li. He will be a soloist in Ensemble Caprice's concert presentation of The Magic Flute on September 10th (tickets and info here). Matthew is a recent graduate of the Atelier lyrique de Opéra de Montréal.

Emily Rocha and George Theodorakopoulos in Highlands Opera Studio’s 1960s California Don Pasquale (Photo: Brenden Friesen) by | Sep 2, 2026 | Featured, Reviews Highlands Opera Studio’s 20th-anniversary season culminated with Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Donizetti’s masterpiece premiered in Paris in 1843 and was an immediate success, marking the high point of 19th-century opera buffa.

In “Vesti la giubba,” Wanshuai Yu prepares to laugh despite discovering Nedda’s infidelity (Photo: Murat Atlan) by | Aug 31, 2026 | Featured, Reviews Nebula Performances production of Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci is a time-travelling triumph that manages to be both ancient and contemporary – faithful to the 19th-century original and newly relevant.

Lauren Margison in the title role of Suor Angelica at Highlands Opera Studio (Photo: Brenden Friesen) by | Aug 26, 2026 | Featured, Reviews It’s the 20th anniversary of Highlands Opera Studio (HOS), and Haliburton has been a veritable hub of operatic activity, hosting everything from concerts on the lake, to masterclasses in a church, to inspiring concerts in a theatre. On August 22nd, at the Northern Lights Pavilion, HOS showcased an operatic triple threat: a premiere and two Puccini works.

Adam Sperry and Lara Ciekiewicz in Manitoba Underground Opera’s presentation of Puccini’s first stage work (Photo: Paul McKeen) by | Aug 24, 2026 | Featured, Reviews Manitoba Underground Opera (MUO) capped its darkly hewn 2026 season notably with the Manitoba premiere of Puccini’s rarely performed Le Villi, a spooky story in which spirits rise from beyond the grave to wreak their revenge.

Monday, October 26, 2026 Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre 6:00 – Reception 7:00 – Ceremony 8:30 – Desserts to follow ceremony Nina Draganic, Administrator “I wanted to show people, through the work and through those collaborations, that opera is more than the sum of its parts, that when you bring positive change into the ecosystem, the whole ecosystem benefits.” – Nina Draganic Photo credit: Kaytlyn Devyani Photography Opéra Magnolia, Change Maker Originally founded as Musiques 3 Femmes...

L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi at Festival d’opéra de Québec (photo: Stéphane Bourgeois) by | Aug 6, 2026 | Featured, Reviews The Festival d’opéra de Québec is celebrating its 15th edition with a new team: Jean-Marie Zeitouni and Laurent Patenaude. With a major international production – reviewed separately – and some Quebec opera creation, their programming continues the excellent work of their predecessors.

French tenor Marc Mauillon in the title role of Early Music Vancouver’s Orfeo (Photo: Jess MacAleese) by | Aug 4, 2026 | Featured, Reviews Early Music Vancouver’s production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo was a true delight. The 1607 classic, while not technically considered the first opera (that honour goes to Jacopo Peri’s Dafne, with the earliest surviving opera being Peri’s Euridice), is the earliest that is still regularly performed.

The death of the first Prioress is staged as though you are seeing into her room from above (Photo: Stéphane Bourgeois) by | Aug 4, 2026 | Featured, Reviews For his first program as artistic director of the Festival d’opéra de Québec, Jean-Marie Zeitouni has opted for audacity by choosing one of the most important operatic works of the 20th century: Francis Poulenc‘s Dialogues des Carmélites.

Luca McCauley and Grace Quinsey (centre) with the ensemble of The Pirates of Penzance (photo: Carolyn Caputo-McCauley) by | Jul 24, 2026 | Featured, Reviews On July 16th and 17th, a motley crew sailed north of Toronto and took over the stage at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Everywhere you looked there were pirates, but these were no ordinary buccaneers. They were musical marauders.