Sandra Horst

Head of Opera
University of Toronto

BMus (WLU), MMus (NEC), Hons DMus (WLU), COC Ensemble Studio.

Select UofT conducting credits: L’elisir d’amore, La voix humaine, Les mamelles de Tirésias, Hansel and Gretel, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Taptoo!, HMS Pinafore, Don Pasquale, Paul Bunyan, The Tender Land. Chorus Master at COC since 1998; Guest Conductor, Edmonton Opera Orphée+; Faculty, Opera in the 21^st Century, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; Head Coach, Brott Opera; frequent Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition judge. Former Chorus Master/Audition Consultant for Opera Theatre of St Louis, Chorus Master of Edmonton Opera and vocal coach/repetiteur at COC, Juilliard Opera Center, Chautauqua Institute and Boston Lyric Opera. Recognized by Wilfrid Laurier University as “100 Alumni of Achievement” with Honorary Doctorate in Music in 2019.

Michael Albano

Resident Stage Director Emeritus,
UofT Opera Student Composers Collective

With U of T Opera Michael Albano has directed over 40 productions and has developed a graduate course in operatic composition. Michael Albano has directed at: New York City Opera, Yale School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, COC. Selected Directorial credits include: Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le Comte Ory, Le nozze di Figaro, L’elisir d’amore, La belle Hélène, La Traviata, The Gondoliers, Die Fledermaus, La Bohème, Gianni Schicchi, Swoon, Così fan tutte, L’Enfant prodigue, Paul Bunyan.

Selected original libretti include: The Machine Stops; Footsteps in Campbell House; Rob Ford, the Opera; The Last Duel; The Very Last Green Thing; A Dickens of a Christmas; Laura’s Cow, the Legend of Laura Secord; Alice in Wonderland. Currently working on Fall River, the legend of Lizzie Borden.

Russell Braun

Resident Operatic Performance Specialist  

Russell Braun holds his BMus, Opera Dip (UofT) Selected repertoire: Chou En-lai (Nixon in China), Prince Andrei (War and Peace), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Ford (Falstaff), The Traveller (Death in Venice), Elijah, Peter Eötvös’s Senza Sangue, Carmina Burana, title role in Billy Budd, Pelléas et Mélisande, Don Giovanni, Louis Riel, Eugene Onegin, Il barbiere di Siviglia

Performed with: Metropolitan Opera, l’Opéra de Paris, State Opera in Vienna, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, LA Opera, La Scala, COC, Salzburg and Glyndebourne festivals, TSO, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, BBC Symphony, OSM

Selected discography: Das Lied von der Erde, Mozart Arie e duetti, Apollo e Daphne, Winterreise, Le Vaisseau Fantôme, Romeo et Juliette, Dido and Aeneas, Nixon in China

Rachel Andrist

Coach

Canadian pianist Rachel Andrist is recognized internationally for her insightful musicianship, sophisticated pianism and generous collaborative spirit. Following her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the St. Louis Conservatory, she joined the music staff of Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels as Chef de chant. She has also been on the music staff of the Salzburg Festival, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Salzburg Easter Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Netherlands Opera, English National Opera, and Scottish Opera, serving as répétiteur for such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano, Ivor Bolton, Vladimir Jurowski, René Jacobs, Valery Gergiev and Kazushi Ono. Of particular note was her position as Studienleiterin for the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival from 2009 to 2012 and for Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Opera, where she was Head of Musical Projects. In 2010, she joined the staff at the Canadian Opera Company and the Glenn Gould School of Music.

Early studies with Martin Isepp fostered a lifelong love affair with song repertoire. She has shared the recital stage with acclaimed artists including Sir Thomas Allen, Klara Ek, Ekaterina Gubanova, Jason Howard, Quinn Kelsey, Elliot Madore, Heidi Melton, Allyson McHardy, Adrianne Pieczonka, Sondra Radvanovsky, Franz-Josef Selig, and Elzbieta Szmytka.

Ms. Andrist is presently the Head of Accompanying at the University of Regina’s Conservatory of Music and is a frequent guest at the University of Toronto’s Opera School and the Oslo National Opera in Norway.

Christine Bae

Coach

Christine Bae is a collaborative pianist and vocal coach based in Toronto, specializing in opera and concert performance. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Chugye University for the Arts, continued her studies at Ewha Womans University, and completed an Advanced Certificate in Performance, a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano, and a Diploma in Operatic Performance as a répétiteur at the University of Toronto.

Christine has worked as a répétiteur for various opera productions, including Madama Butterfly with the Seoul Opera Ensemble, Pagliacci at the National Theater of Korea, and multiple productions with UofT Opera, such as Gallantry, Monsieur Choufleuri, Hin und Zurück, Disobedience, A Tale of Two Cities, Il Capello di Paglia di Firenze, Lysistrata Reimagined, and Cendrillon. In 2024, she served as music director for Mishaabooz’s Realm at Highlands Opera Studio.

Kate Carver

Coach

Kate has coached with UofT Opera since 1999 and is also Music Director and Conductor of Opera at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has served on music staff at COC, Chautauqua Institute, Britten Pears School, Broomhill Opera in Kent, British Youth Opera, Banff Centre, University of Montreal, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Opera in Concert, Toronto Summer Music Academy, Maritime Concert Opera, and Stratford Summer Music. Kate’s training included COC Ensemble Studio, National Opera Studio in London, England and Guildhall School of Music. Studied Art Song with Martin Isepp and Graham Johnson. BMus, MMus (McGill).

Spencer Kryzanowski

Coach

Spencer Kryzanowski is a passionate crossover artist working as a conductor, music director, répétiteur, and vocal coach in both opera and musical theatre. Spencer is ​the assistant conductor and pianist for Edmonton Opera; a staff member in the University of Toronto Opera department; resident music director for Good Mess Opera Theatre; and resident music director for Pop Goes the Opera in Edmonton, Alberta. On top of these regular positions, Spencer maintains a busy freelance schedule.

Spencer’s recent conducting credits include Newsies and Mean Girls: The Musical with Bravo Academy, Hank & Gremlin with Good Mess Opera Theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial By Jury, Massenet’s Cendrillon, and Puccini’s Il tabarro. As a repetiteur, Spencer’s recent credits include Guerrero’s El huésped del sevillano with Toronto Operetta Theatre, Ian Cusson and Royce Vavrek’s Indians on Vacation, Nino Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, and Humperdink’s Hänsel und Gretel with Berlin Opera Academy.

Jason Nedecky

Diction

Winnipeg native. BMus (U Manitoba), MMus and Opera dip (UofT). Further study: Baden bei Wien, Aldeburgh, L’Académie Musicale de Villecroze in Provence, France, Banff Centre. As a baritone, engaged by NAC Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Chamber Choir,  Aldeburgh Connection, International Bach Festival Toronto, the Bach-Elgar Choir of Hamilton, COC, Saskatoon Opera, Opera Atelier, Aradia Ensemble. Language Coach at the Canadian Opera Company, the Luminato Festival, Radio-Canada, RCM. Teaches Lyric Diction at UofT,  French Diction and Repertoire at Glenn Gould School. Author: French Lyric Diction: A Singer’s Guide (Oxford University Press).

Wendy Nielsen

Voice Teacher

Lead vocal consultant for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Program, Artistic Director of St Andrews Summer Opera Workshop. Sang with Metropolitan Opera and every opera company in Canada.  Operatic roles: Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Micaela in Carmen, Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito and the title role in Tosca, Ariadne, Vanessa. Conductors: James Levine, Kurt Masur, James Conlon, Mario Bernardi, Charles Dutoit, Richard Bradshaw, Ivan Fischer. Former Chair Debut Atlantic. Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Order of New Brunswick. BMus (Lethbridge), MMus (UBC).

Steven Philcox

Head of Collaborative Piano
Masterclass

BMus (UBC), MMus (Manhattan School of Music), Music Academy of the West. Head of UofT Collaborative Piano Program;  co-director of Canadian Art Song Project. For twelve years répétiteur, assistant conductor and orchestral continuo player with the Canadian Opera Company. Has given masterclasses and/or been a faculty member at Opera on the Avalon, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Vancouver International Song Institute, The Banff Center, Chautauqua Summer Institute, Center for Operatic Studies in Italy, Highlands Opera Studio.

Anna Theodosakis

Acting/Movement

Stage director and choreographer Anna Theodosakis is a rising figure on the operatic scene, collaborating with companies across Canada including the Canadian Opera Company, Calgary Opera, Manitoba Opera, Edmonton Opera, Saskatoon Opera, Against the Grain Theatre, the Banff Centre, and more. Anna was selected as the 2024 Merola Opera Stage Director where she directed the Grand Finale and Song as Drama Recital.  Since 2017, Anna has appeared as a frequent collaborator with the Canadian Opera Company, earning a nomination for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction for her work as revival director on The Magic Flute. She is a COC Ensemble Studio faculty member and dramatic coach. Passionate about working with emerging artists she currently teaches acting and dance for the University of Toronto’s Opera Division. She has been an invited guest stage director and lecturer of acting, movement, and digital techniques with nine different universities. annatheodosakis.com

RACHEL ANDRIST

Coach

Canadian pianist Rachel Andrist is recognized internationally for her insightful musicianship, sophisticated pianism and generous collaborative spirit. Following her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the St. Louis Conservatory, she joined the music staff of Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels as Chef de chant. She has also been on the music staff of the Salzburg Festival, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Salzburg Easter Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Netherlands Opera, English National Opera, and Scottish Opera, serving as répétiteur for such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano, Ivor Bolton, Vladimir Jurowski, René Jacobs, Valery Gergiev and Kazushi Ono. Of particular note was her position as Studienleiterin for the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival from 2009 to 2012 and for Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Opera, where she was Head of Musical Projects. In 2010, she joined the staff at the Canadian Opera Company and the Glenn Gould School of Music.

Early studies with Martin Isepp fostered a lifelong love affair with song repertoire. She has shared the recital stage with acclaimed artists including Sir Thomas Allen, Klara Ek, Ekaterina Gubanova, Jason Howard, Quinn Kelsey, Elliot Madore, Heidi Melton, Allyson McHardy, Adrianne Pieczonka, Sondra Radvanovsky, Franz-Josef Selig, and Elzbieta Szmytka.

Ms. Andrist is presently the Head of Accompanying at the University of Regina’s Conservatory of Music and is a frequent guest at the University of Toronto’s Opera School and the Oslo National Opera in Norway.

TIM ALBERY

Stage Director (Three Islands: Castaway, Tempest Songbook, Riders to the Sea)

Tim Albery has directed theatre, opera and music-theatre. He has worked in many houses including in Britain: Royal National Theatre; Royal Shakespeare Company; Royal Court Theatre; Royal Opera House; Opera North; Welsh National Opera; Scottish Opera; Aldeburgh Festival; Garsington Opera in Europe: Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; Nederlandse Oper, Amsterdam; Opéra de Nice; Deutsches Theater, Göttingen; Theater der Stadt, Essen; Ro Theater, Rotterdam; Mickery Theater, Amsterdam in United States: Santa Fé Opera; Washington Opera; Philadelphia Opera; Metropolitan Opera; San Francisco Opera; Seattle Opera; Boston Lyric Opera; Opera Theater of St Louis; Glimmerglass Opera; Minnesota Opera in Canada: Canadian Opera Company, Soundstreams, Tapestry, Luminato Festival.
He was co-Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre, London and Artistic Director of the ICA Theatre, London. He has won or been nominated for several awards for Best Production including the International Opera Award, Lawrence Olivier Award, and Dora Award

SIOBHAN SLEATH

Lighting Designer (Three Islands, Così fan tutte)

Siobhán is very happy to be back designing lights for U of T Opera.  Her previous shows with the school include: A Tale of Two Cities, The Tenderland, Don Giovanni, The Medium and The Telephone.  Selected Opera Credits include Lighting Design for: The Bright Divide (Soundstreams); La Traviata (Brott Opera); Flight (RCM); Figaro’s Wedding (Against the Grain); Les Shorts qui Chantent: Opera Briefs (Tapestry Opera); Associate lighting design credits include: La Traviata (Canadian Opera Company and Houston Grand Opera), Assisting credits include: Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Madama Butterfly (SFO) Wreckers (HGO), Nightingale and Other Short Fables and Ariodante (COC) More info at her website: www.siobhansleathdesign.com.

MICHELLE TRACEY

Set Designer (Three Islands: Castaway, Tempest Songbook, Riders to the Sea)

Michelle Tracey is a scenographer based in Toronto, Ontario working in the fields of theatre, opera, film and events in between. Michelle earned her BFA from York University and graduated the Soulpepper Academy. Michelle is also a trained wardrobe technician and has constructed costumes for numerous professional productions. Michelle is a founding member of Triga Creative, a collective of designers exploring ecoscenography, intergenerational artistic exchange and the development of new sustainable working models. Select design credits include: Candida, The Clearing (The Shaw Festival), Every Little Nookie, Nathan the Wise (The Stratford Festival), Cendrillon, Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze, The Tender Land, Mansfield Park, Imeneo, The Fatal Gaze, Last Days (U of T Opera), Behind the Moon, This Was The World, Much Ado About Nothing (Tarragon Theatre), Indecent (Studio 180) Garden of Vanished Pleasures, Hell’s Fury (Soundstreams), WILDWOMAN, Wedding at Aulis, Sisters, Waiting for Godot (Soulpepper Theatre) michelletraceydesign.com

EDITH WIENS, soprano

John R. Stratton Visitor in Music
November 4 – 6, 2024

Canadian soprano Edith Wiens’ beautiful, versatile voice and assured musicality embraced an astonishingly vast repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary. She has collaborated with the world’s foremost conductors and orchestras, including the New York, Berlin, London, Munich and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras; Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and San Francisco Symphonies, the London Philharmonia, Dresden Staatskapelle and Cleveland Orchestras, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Orchestre National de France and Orchestre de Paris; under such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Sir Georg Solti.

Ms Wiens has been warmly welcomed at the Salzburg, Lucerne, Tanglewood, Dresden, Berlin and Vienna Festivals, and the London Proms.    Renowned as a lieder singer of the highest order, Ms Wiens has given recitals in London (Wigmore Hall), Paris, Toronto, New York, Moscow, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Florence, Munich and Berlin, and has been repeatedly invited to Vienna’s Musikverein.

KAREN SLACK, soprano

John R. Stratton Visitor in Music
March 18 – 20, 2025

A native Philadelphian, Slack is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, as well as the Adler Fellowship and the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera. She is the winner of numerous competitions and awards – most notably the Montserrat Caballé International Competition, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, George London Foundation Award, Marian Anderson ICON Award, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition, Portland Opera Lieber Award, Liederkranz Foundation Award and the Jose Iturbi International Competition for Voice.

A major highlight of Slack’s 2024-2025 season is the nationwide tour of her new commissioning project, African Queens, an evening-length vocal recital of new art songs celebrating the history and legacy of seven African queens, revered as rulers but not widely heralded in the Western world. The program weaves this historical narrative through new works by acclaimed composers Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson along with carefully selected traditional repertoire – further illuminated through passages of spoken text and thematic artwork. Slack will perform the world premiere of African Queens at the Ravinia Festival, followed by performances at co-commissioners Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, 92NY, Washington Performing Arts, Denver Friends of Chamber Music and Newport Classical Festival.

During the season, Slack will perform in the world premiere of Damien Geter’s Loving V. Virginia with the Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony; reprise the role of Mama in Minnesota Opera’s production of The Snowy Day; and feature as soloist with the Fresno Philharmonic. In July 2024, Slack releases an ambitious new recording project, Beyond the Years, in collaboration with ONEComposer and pianist Michelle Cann on Azica Records. The album comprises the unpublished songs of Florence Price, highlighting Price’s affinity with themes of faith, nature, love and loss, and is accompanied by long-overdue published editions of Price’s music.

AMBUR BRAID, soprano

Riki Turofsky Master Class in Voice
April 1, 2025 | 12:10pm

Renowned for her dramatically nuanced and psychologically complex interpretations, Canadian soprano Ambur Braid also brings to the stage an unmatchable authenticity and incandescent vocal power. Her Salome, Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), Die Färberin (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Eva (Schreker’s Irrelohe) and Rachel (Halévy’s La Juive) have left an unforgettable impression, and this season Braid makes her anticipated role debut as Marie (Wozzeck) in two new productions. Firstly for Opéra de Lyon in Richard Brunel’s new production under Daniele Rustioni, and thereafter for Canadian Opera Company in William Kentridge’s new production under Johannes Debus. Elsewhere Ambur makes her company debut at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía as Madame Lidoine in Robert Carsen’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites under Riccardo Minasi.

Praised as being “born to play Salome” (Bachtrack, 2023), it has since become a signature role for Braid, with huge critical acclaim in both Barrie Kosky’s production for Oper Frankfurt and Atom Egoyan’s production for Canadian Opera Company, the latter of which brought Ambur’s appearance in the film ‘Seven Veils’. Other notable role and company debuts include both Eva (Irrelohe) and Die Färberin (Die Frau ohne Schatten) under Daniele Rustioni for Opéra de Lyon, Senta (Der fliegende Holländer) in Herbert Fritsch’s production for Komische Oper, and Stephana in Umberto Giordano’s rarely performed Siberia for Bregenz Festival. A former ensemble member of Oper Frankfurt, selected recent highlights include Rachel in Tatjana Gürbaca’s new production of La Juive under Henrik Nanasi, Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos) under Thomas Guggeis, Chawa in Rudi Stephan’s Die Ersten Menschen – a new production by Tobias Kratzer – conducted by Sebastian Weigle and recorded for CD release, as well as the eponymous roles of Norma under Erik Nielsen and Tosca conducted by Carlo Montanaro.

Peter Barnes

Voice Teacher

Peter Barnes is a versatile baritone with a reputation for outstanding performances in opera, oratorio, concert and musical theatre. He graduated from the University of Toronto Opera Division in 1985 and since then has appeared with opera companies and orchestras from coast to coast. His achievements include honours in the “Du Maurier Search for the Stars”, the National Bach Aria Competition, the CG Young Performers’ Competition.

Gregory Dahl

Voice Teacher

Gregory Dahl is one of Canada’s busiest baritones, in demand for both concert and operatic appearances in Canada, UK and the United States. His debut as Tomsky in The Queen of Spades for English National Opera was notable for “a splendidly oily and corrupt Count Tomsky” while the press hailed his “appealingly lyrical baritone [that] emphasized Golaud’s inner turmoil over his villainy” in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s Pelléas et Mélisande. 

In the summer of 2019, Dahl made his debut in the title role of Der Fliegende Holländer in a new production for Opéra de Québec, destined for the Met’s New York stage in coming seasons.  A great favourite in Québec, he will be heard as Germont Pere for Opéra de Québec in the fall followed by Messiah for Orchestre classique de Montréal and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. During the 2018/19 season Greg appeared as Hermogines in the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Hadrian with the Canadian Opera Company, joined l’Opéra de Montréal for Donner in Das Rheingold, sang Messiah with the Winnipeg Symphony, and reprised the title role in Rigoletto for Calgary Opera.

Darryl Edwards

Voice Teacher

BMus, BEd, MMus (UWO), DMA (Michigan). His students regularly appear in leading roles with major opera companies and orchestras worldwide. As a performer: MSO (Charles Dutoit), Calgary Philharmonic (Hans Graf), Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (Noel Edison),  Heidelberg Bach-Chor (Christian Kabitz), National Arts Centre Orchestra (Franz-Paul Decker). In 2016-2017: voice adjudicator for Canadian National Music Festival Finals in Edmonton; Artistic Director, Centre for Opera Studies in Italy and Centre for Opera Studies & Appreciation. Guest instructor: Charles University, Prague; University of Auckland;  Royal College of Music; Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; Central Conservatory, Beijing;  Xi’an Conservatory.

Lorna Macdonald

Voice Teacher

BME (Dalhousie), MMus (New England Cons). Leads Vocal Pedagogy in a progressive, three-level program combining music, science and teaching. OCUFA Award for “teaching excellence and outstanding contributions to university teaching”

Performances and master classes across North America, Bermuda, Taiwan, China, France, Ireland, UK, Germany, and Austria. Lorna has performed with Metropolitan Opera, Chicago, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Washington, Fort Worth and Dallas Opera companies. Creator and librettist of The Bells of Baddeck – the Alexander Graham and Mabel Bell Story, music by Dean Burry. Other original programs include multi-media work “Lois Marshall in Russia”, and “Marrying Mozart”, adapted from the book by Stephanie Cowell.

Elizabeth McDonald

Voice Teacher

BMus (UofT), MMus (Eastman).  Further training: Banff Centre, Britten-Pears School, Orford Arts Centre, Santa Fe Opera and COC Ensemble. Roles include Elettra (Idomeneo), The Woman (Erwartung), Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw), Jenufa (Jenufa). Has appeared with the National Ballet Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Kingston Symphony. Regular recitalist with Virginia Polytechnic University, Eastman School of Music, Off Centre Music Salon and the Universities of Toronto, Lethbridge, Queen’s, Carlton. Adjudicator for major voice festivals across Canada and regularly works as a vocal consultant for the Ontario Youth Choir, the Toronto Children’s Chorus and the University of Toronto’s annual Choral Symposium.

Wendy Nielsen

Voice Teacher

Lead vocal consultant for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Program, Artistic Director of St Andrews Summer Opera Workshop. Sang with Metropolitan Opera and every opera company in Canada. Operatic roles: Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Micaela in Carmen, Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito and the title role in Tosca, Ariadne, Vanessa. Conductors: James Levine, Kurt Masur, James Conlon, Mario Bernardi, Charles Dutoit, Richard Bradshaw, Ivan Fischer. Former Chair Debut Atlantic. Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Order of New Brunswick. BMus (Lethbridge), MMus (UBC).

Nathalie Paulin

Voice Teacher

Native of New Brunswick. B.Mus, M.Mus (U de Montréal), post-grad with Dalton Baldwin and Lorraine Nubar, COC Ensemble Studio. Has sung with every Canadian opera company. Conductors: Sir Roger Norrington, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Andrew Parrott, Michael Christie, Robert Spano, David Agler, Bernard Labadie, Graeme Jenkins, Andrew Litton, Antony Walker, Jacques Lacombe, Yoav Talmi. Roles: Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Norina (Don Pasquale), Marzelline (Fidelio), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Antonia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Micaëla (Carmen),  title role in Rodelinda, Semele and Massenet’s Manon. International engagers: Wexford Festival, Mercury Baroque of Houston, Chicago Opera Theater, Arizona Opera, Cincinnati Opera

Daniel Taylor

Voice Teacher

Director: UofT Schola Cantorum Choir and Orchestra, Theatre of Early Music, Quebec International Festival of Sacred Music

Selected Repertoire: Rinaldo, Rodelinda, Theodora, Orfeo ed Euridice, Israel in Egypt, Carmina Burana, Christmas Oratorio, Saul, Bach St. John Passion

Selected Engagers: Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera, COC, Academy of Ancient Music, Cleveland Orchestra, TSO, Philadelphia Orchestra Bachakademie Stuttgart, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, BBC Proms
Selected Discography: Bach Cantatas; Renaissance duets; Rinaldo; Theodora; Rodelinda; Cantatas “Before Bach”; Vivaldi Gloria; four recordings of Handel’s Messiah, Bach B minor Mass

Laura Tucker

Voice Teacher

BA (Seattle Pacific U), MMus (Manhattan School of Music), Juilliard Opera Center.
She has performed at New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Philadelphia, COC, Wexford Festival, Huddersfield New Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Chicago Ravinia Festival, New York Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center.

Roles include Charlotte (Werther), Sesto (La clemenza di Tito), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), Erika (Vanessa), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Helmwige (Die Walküre), Marco Polo in the North American premiere of Marco Polo by Tan Dun.

Frederique Vezina

Voice Teacher

Montreal native, alumna of COC Ensemble Studio and Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en- Provence. Conductors: Richard Bradshaw, James Conlon, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Hans Fricke, Bernard Labadie, Jacques Lacombe, Kent Nagano, Peter Oundjian, Yoav Talmi, Bramwell Tovey. Roles: Mimi (La Bohème), Lisa (Queen of Spades), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Miranda (The Tempest), title role (The Merry Widow, Lillian Alling),  Micaëla (Carmen), Wellgunde (Das Rheingold). Companies: Washington National Opera, COC, Festival Lanaudière, New Jersey Festival, Opera Companies of Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria and Quebec.

Monica Whicher

Head of Voice Studies

Has performed with every major Canadian orchestra and opera company. Conductors include Helmuth Rilling, Peter Oundjian, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Franz-Paul Decker, Mario Bernardi, Pinchas Zukerman, Richard Bradshaw, Timothy Vernon, Yanick Nezet-Seguin, Steuart Bedford. Master classes: Victoria Conservatory; U of Alberta; U of Manitoba, Guelph Spring Festival.

Recordings: Lullabies and Carols for Christmas; Erotikos Logos, Song Cycles (Hatzis); Singing Somers Theatre, the Music of Harry Somers; Castor et Pollux with Aradia Ensemble; Persée with Opera Atelier.

Roles: Thaïs (Thaïs), Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Pamina and Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Anna Maurant (Street Scene), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Governess (Turn of the Screw), Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia). BMus (UWO), Opera Diploma (UofT), COC Ensemble, Britten-Pears School of Music.

CHRISTINA BELL

Opera & Public Events Administrator

Soprano Christina Bell is frequently featured in Concert, Opera, and Oratorio across North America. Recent performances include Paquette in Candide with North York Concert Orchestra in June of 2023 as well as a recital tour across Southwestern Ontario in August of 2023.

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 pastiche created by Tim Albery and David Fallis. Over the recent years Christina has attended the Mainstage/Ensemble Programs at Opera on the Avalon (2015, 2014), The Centre for Opera Studies in Italy (2013, 2015), Halifax Summer Opera Festival (2014), St.Andrews Summer Opera Workshop (2016). 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. In 2015 Christina had the privilege of representing Canada with the Toronto Korean-Canadian Choir as a soloist for Vivaldis’ Gloria and sang Arirang as the soprano soloist during the performance of the Korean Folk Songs with Symphonia Toronto.

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 current Opera & Public Events Administrator at the University of Toronto and the Company Manager for the Opera in the 21st Century program at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.