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.

YVES ABEL – Conductor

Riki Turofsky Masterclass in Voice – September 24, 2025 | 12:10pm | Geiger-Torel Room

A regular guest with the world’s greatest orchestras and opera companies, Yves Abel is Principal Conductor of San Diego Opera since the season 2020/21. He was Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche (NWD) Philharmonie Herford from 2015 to 2020 and from 2005 to 2011 he was Principal Guest Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

In autumn 2017 he won the Rubies Award of Opera Canada, for his outstanding contributions to opera in Canada.

He has already conducted in such theatres as Metropolitan Opera New York, ROH Covent Garden London, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Rossini Opera Festival di Pesaro, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, New National Theatre Tokyo.

In concerts he has performed with such important orchestras as Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Seoul Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Sinfonica de Navarra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini Parma.

As a Franco-Canadian, he has a particular affinity with the French repertoire and has won significant critical acclaim for his achievements as founder (in 1988) and Music Director of L’Opéra Francais de New York, with whom he has rediscovered rare French operas and also performed the world premiere of Dusapin’s To be Sung. Also for this activity, in 2009 he was awarded the title “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Government.

CARRIE-ANN MATHESON – Pianist & Conductor

John R. Stratton Visitor in Music – February 10^th to 12^th, 2026

Carrie-Ann Matheson has a multi-faceted international career as pianist, conductor and educator, and since January 2021, is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program. A native of Canada, Ms.Matheson began her career at the Metropolitan Opera, where she was a tenured member of the music staff, serving as assistant conductor, prompter, pianist and vocal coach. The expansion of her European performing career began in 2014 when she was invited by Maestro Fabio Luisi to join the coaching and conducting staff at Opernhaus Zürich.

Especially in demand as a recital pianist, she has performed with many of the world’s most celebrated opera singers, including Rolando Villazón, Benjamin Bernheim, Jonas Kaufmann, Piotr Beczała, Diana Damrau, Thomas Hampson and Joyce DiDonato.

Ms. Matheson made her conducting debut at Opernhaus Zürich, where she has since conducted works such as La Finta Giardiniera, Don Pasquale and Iphigénie en Tauride. As assistant conductor, she has worked with luminaries including James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and Gianandrea Noseda, and has been engaged in that capacity by such renowned festivals as the Salzburger Festspiele and the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.

Passionate about nurturing the next generation of opera singers and pianists, Ms. Matheson has worked with the world’s leading young artist programs, including the International Opera Studio (Opernhaus Zürich), Atkins Young Artist Program (The Mariinsky Theatre), Lindemann Young Artist Development Program (The Metropolitan Opera), Ryan Opera Center (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival and the International Vocal Arts Institute.

Ms. Matheson holds degrees from the University of Prince Edward Island (B.Mus.Ed), the Cleveland Institute of Music (M.Mus in Collaborative Piano), the Manhattan School of Music (Professional Studies Diploma in Vocal Accompanying) and is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

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

Co-Head of Voice Studies, 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

Co-Head of Voice Studies, 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

Co-Head of Voice Studies, 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

Voice Teacher

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.

TARYN DOUGALL

Interim Opera & Public Events Administrator

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.