Royce Vavrek is a Canada-born, Brooklyn-based librettist and lyricist who has been called “the indie Hofmannsthal” (The New Yorker) a “Metastasio of the downtown opera scene” (The Washington Post), “an exemplary creator of operatic prose” (The New York Times), and “one of the most celebrated and sought after librettists in the world” (CBC Radio). His opera “Angel’s Bone” with composer Du Yun was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

With composer Missy Mazzoli he wrote “Song from the Uproar,” premiered by Beth Morrison Projects in 2012, and subsequently seen in multiple presentations around the country. Their second opera, an adaptation of Lars von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves,” premiered at Opera Philadelphia, co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, and directed by James Darrah to critical acclaim in September of 2016. The work won the 2017 Music Critics Association of North America award for Best New Opera and was nominated for Best World Premiere at the 2017 International Opera Awards. A new production premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in the summer of 2019, produced by Scottish Opera and Opera Ventures, helmed by Tony Award-winning director Tom Morris and earned star Sydney Mancasola a coveted Herald Angel Award for her performance. Their next opera, an adaptation of Karen Russell’s short story “Proving Up,” was commissioned and presented by Washington National Opera, Opera Omaha and The Miller Theatre in 2018, was a finalist for the MCANA Best New Opera Award of that year. They are currently developing a grand opera for Opera Philadelphia and the Norwegian National Opera based on an original story by two-time Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Jordan Tannahill, as well as an adaptation of George Saunders’ Booker Prize-winning novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” for The Metropolitan Opera.

Teaming up with Swedish composer Mikael Karlsson, Royce wrote the story and text for two dance projects, “Crypto,” choreographed by Guillaume Côté for Côté Dance and “Evidence of It All,” choreographed by Drew Jacoby for SFDanceworks, featuring narration by the Academy Award-nominated actress Rosamund Pike. They are currently developing two grand operas: an adaptation of Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” to premiere at the Royal Swedish Opera in 2023, and “Fanny and Alexander,” working alongside creative partner Ingmar Bergman, Jr. to musicalize his late father’s classic film for La Monnaie de Munt in 2024, in a production to be directed by Ivo van Hove. Both operas are to feature renowned mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, for whom Mikael and Royce wrote the song cycle “So We Will Vanish,” premiered by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in 2021 to critical acclaim.

His collaboration with composer David T. Little led Heidi Waleson of the Wall Street Journal to proclaim them “one of the most exciting composer-librettist teams working in opera today.” In April of 2016 they premiered their first grand opera, “JFK,” at Fort Worth Opera, a co-commission with American Lyric Theater and Opéra de Montréal that was called “ravishing” (Opera News), earning a ten-star review in Opera Now Magazine. This followed the success of their first opera, “Dog Days,” which received its world premiere in September of 2012 at Peak Performances @ Montclair, in a production co-produced by Beth Morrison Projects and directed by American maverick Robert Woodruff. The work was celebrated as the Classical Music Event of the year by Time Out New York and a standout opera of recent decades by The New York Times. They are currently developing an original work for the Metropolitan Opera through the Met/LCT commissioning program.

Royce has also worked extensively with composer Paola Prestini, first on the song cycle "Yoani," inspired by the blog posts of Yoani Sanchez, and then on "The Hubble Cantata," a virtual reality oratorio produced by VisionIntoArt/National Sawdust in association with Beth Morrison Projects. They recently presented the workshop premiere of “Silent Light,” an opera based on the Cannes Jury Prize-winning film by Carlos Reygadas at the Banff Centre for Creativity, a collaboration with the director Thaddeus Strassberger, and are currently working on a new opera inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” They are also developing "Film Stills," a project for mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti that dramatizes four of Cindy Sherman's iconic photographs through musical monologues composed by Paola, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly and Ellen Reid, and directed by R.B. Schlather. Royce and Paola's collaboration can be further heard on the AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope recording, where their song "Union," as sung by Isabel Leonard, is featured.

In 2014 Royce premiered “27,” his first collaboration with composer Ricky Ian Gordon, at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Created for renowned mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, the work brought to life Gertrude Stein’s famous salon at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris. Mark Ray Rinaldi of the Denver Post wrote that the opera “tells a great American story, about Gertrude Stein, as well as opera in the 21st century.” The opera was subsequently presented by Pittsburgh Opera, MasterVoices at New York City Center, Michigan Opera Theater, Opéra de Montréal and Opera Las Vegas. In 2017 their adaptation of Gail Rock’s Christmas classic “The House Without a Christmas Tree” for Houston Grand Opera was premiered to critical acclaim.

Other recent and upcoming projects include “Strip Mall” with Matt Marks for the Los Angeles Philharmonic; “Epistle Mass” with Julian Wachner for Trinity Wall Street, “Midwestern Gothic” with Josh Schmidt for Signature Theatre, Virginia; “Naamah’s Ark” with Marisa Michelson for MasterVoices; “O Columbia” with Gregory Spears for HGOco; “Knoxville: Summer of 2015” with Ellen Reid for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and National Sawdust; “The Wild Beast of the Bungalow” with Rachel Peters for Oberlin Conservatory; “Jacqueline” with Luna Pearl Woolf for Tapestry New Opera; “Adoration” (based on the film by Atom Egoyan) with Mary Kouyoumdjian for Beth Morrison Projects; “The Cremation of Sam McGee” with Matthew Ricketts, supported by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts; and “Agnes” with Daníel Bjarnason for the Icelandic Opera.

Royce is co-Artistic Director of The Coterie, an opera-theater company founded with Tony-nominee Lauren Worsham. He holds a BFA in Filmmaking and Creative Writing from Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University. He is an alum of American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program.

Heather Slater is a dynamic, collaborative leader with over 25 years’ experience in performing arts management. She is recognized for her success in aligning artistic excellence with organizational sustainability, and her deep commitment to audience engagement and community impact. With her expertise in artistic programming, cultural policy development, and stakeholder collaboration, she has driven growth and innovation in both non-profit and municipal government settings.

Heather has held key roles at several Canadian arts organizations, including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic. As Director of Artistic Planning in Calgary, she brought a fresh perspective to programming, forged meaningful partnerships with diverse community groups, and played a pivotal role in expanding and diversifying the orchestra's audience base. Most recently, as Manager of Arts and Culture for Chatham-Kent, she developed the region's first Public Art Policy, fostered the creation of its first community arts council, and was instrumental in transforming the Municipal performing arts centers into vibrant cultural hubs.

Heather is excited to be joining ATG as Executive Director, bringing her passion and expertise to an organization she has long admired. "As an avid fan of ATG since its inception, I am deeply honoured to be part of this innovative company that is reimagining the art form and amplifying diverse creative voices, work that is both timely and essential. I look forward to collaborating with visionary Artistic Director Royce Vavrek to shape the next chapter of this exceptional organization."

Holding a B.Mus in Vocal Performance from Western University and an Advanced Certificate in Performance from the University of Toronto, Lauren Halász is a singer, content creator, digital marketing specialist, and director living and working in the Greater Toronto Area. Having worked with former AtG Digital Marketing Manager Daevyd Pepper, Lauren transitioned to their current position in May of 2023, taking the expertise they learned from Daevyd along with them. In addition to the work Lauren does for AtG, they also manage their own band, "Lo & the High Road", across social media platforms. Over the past few years, Lauren has grown these social media accounts to over 200k followers/subscribers combined. In pursuits other than marketing, Lauren is an active classical singer and folk singer/songwriter who performs frequently in Ontario and beyond. As a director, Lauren has brought a few operas to the silver screen, most notably Medusa's Children and La Maupin, both by OperaQ. The former received a nomination for OPERA America's Digital Excellence in Opera awards under the Artistic Creation category.

Spencer Kryzanowski is a Dora Award-winning conductor, music director, vocal coach, and répétiteur based in Newmarket, Ontario. He is recognized for his collaborative work in opera, musical theatre, vocal coaching, and arts education.

Spencer is a faculty vocal coach and répétiteur in the University of Toronto Opera Department, the host/music director for Toronto’s Opera Pub series and music staff for Against the Grain Theatre in Toronto, and the resident music director for Good Mess Opera Theatre. Spencer is also a faculty member at the Banff Centre's summer opera program. Alongside these positions, Spencer maintains a busy freelance schedule. He is deeply committed to arts education and advocacy, taking pride in educating future generations about opera and affirming the legitimacy of choosing a career in the art form. With support from the Yukon Arts Centre, Spencer makes regular trips to the Yukon Territory, delivering arts and opera educational presentations to students in rural and underserved communities.

As a conductor and music director, Spencer has worked widely across Canada. His recent opera credits include The Silver Cypress (Beth Morrison Proejcts/Banff Centre), Canuck Cantatas (Against the Grain Theatre), Puccini’s La rondine (Good Mess Opera), Wagner’s Die Walküre (Edmonton Opera), Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle (Edmonton Opera), Strauss Jr's Die Fledermaus (Edmonton Opera), Puccini's Il tabarro (Pop Goes the Opera), Massenet's Cendrillon (UofT Opera), Hansel and Gretel (Good Mess Opera), and La bohème (Mercury Opera). Spencer's recent musical theatre credits include Newsies, Mean Girls: The Musical, and Beauty and the Beast.

Spencer's recent répétiteur credits include RUR: A Torrent of Light (Banff Centre), Parelios (Opera5 - world premiere), Donizetti’s Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Canadian Premiere), Wagner’s Die Walküre (Edmonton Opera), Guerrero's El huésped del sevillano (Toronto Operetta Theatre), Nino Rota's Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, and a comedic triple-bill of Hindemith's Hin und zurück, Offenbach's Monsieur Choufleuri, and Douglas Moore's Gallantry. Other credits include Humperdink's Hänsel und Gretel; Copland's The Tender Land; Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia; Puccini’s Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi; and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Spencer regularly participates in and collaborates on workshops of new operas. In 2025, he participated in a workshop of Fall River, a new opera by Cecilia Livingston and Michael Albano based on the Lizzie Borden story (premiering in Fall 2026). In 2024, he assisted in a workshop of Indians on Vacation by Ian Cusson and Royce Vavrek. He also had the distinct pleasure of workshopping Melancholia, an opera by Mikael Karlsson and Royce Vavrek based on the Lars von Trier film, in 2023 for the Royal Swedish Opera.

Spencer completed his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta and a Diploma in Operatic Performance (Répétiteur) at the University of Toronto.