A critically acclaimed mezzo­soprano of Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish and Scottish heritage, Marion Newman was born in Bella Coola and grew up in Sooke, BC. She is one of Canada’s most accomplished singers in repertoire from Vivaldi to Vivier. As Carmen, the Irish Examiner noted “she sparked an electricity which totally engrossed the audience with her superbly sinuous sexuality... Prudes may raise their eyebrows at the sensuality of this Carmen; theatregoers will clamour for more.”. Nominated for a Dora Award for her leading role in the world premiere of Shanawdithit (Nolan/Burry) with Toronto’s Tapestry Opera, Ian Ritchie wrote “she invests her character with towering dignity and courage”. Marion portrayed Dr. Wilson in the premiere of Missing (Clements/Current) with Vancouver City Opera/Pacific Opera Victoria, which gives voice, in English and Gitxsan, to the story of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. In 2023, Marion debuts with Anchorage Opera in their production of Missing. Highlights for the 2022/23 season include Cantaloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with Vancouver Island Symphony, Messiah with Vancouver Bach Choir, Bruckner’s Te Deum and the world premiere of Stephanie Martin’s Water, with Grand Philharmonic Choir and Kitchener­Waterloo Symphony. Recent guest appearances include Mozart’s Requiem, a digital co­production with Canadian Opera Company and Against the Grain Theatre, The Echoes Project with Gryphon Trio, and Five Songs on Poems of Marilyn Dumont (Cusson) with the New Orford String Quartet, for Cecilia Concerts in Halifax. Marion has sung many works that speak to her First Nations identity, including a Canada­wide tour of Ancestral Voices (Tovey) with the Vancouver Symphony and Nuyamł­ił Kulhulmx ­ Singing the Earth (Höstman/Robinson) with the Victoria and Vancouver Symphonies and Continuum Concerts in Toronto. Marion created the role of Dawn with Welsh National Opera in the July 2022 world premiere of Migrations, with stories by five writers based on their personal experiences of migrations and working with refugees. Also with Welsh National Opera, Marion stars in the premiere of The Shoemaker, a fusion of Latin American, Persian and Western classical musical influences, and performs in Migrations UK tour. In addition to her extensive performing career, Marion is a Co­Founder of Amplified Opera and the host of CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.

Keely McPeek (she/her) is a member of the Anisininew (Oji-Cree) Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, with Irish and German settler roots. A lover of storytelling regardless of genre, Keely loves to perform theatre, musical theatre, and opera. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Post-Baccalaureate in Vocal Performance from the University of Manitoba. Winning the Rainbow Stage Trophy at the Winnipeg Music Festival encouraged Keely's stage performance career. She recently attended the Banff Centre's Interplay Program where she portrayed Didi in the workshop of Ian Cusson and Royce Vavrek's Indians on Vacation. You may have seen Keely in Manitoba Opera’s Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North as Marie Serpente, Vancouver Opera/Pacific Opera Victoria’s tour of Flight of the Hummingbird as Bunny, Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s seven-month tour of Frozen River, Dry Cold’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, or the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

Ian Cusson is a composer of art song, opera and orchestral work. Of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French Canadian descent, his work explores Canadian Indigenous experience including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures.

He studied composition with Jake Heggie (San Francisco) and Samuel Dolin, and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School. He is the recipient of the Chalmers Professional Development Grant, and grants through the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.

Ian was an inaugural Carrefour Composer-in-Residence with the National Arts Centre Orchestra for 2017-2019 and was Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company for 2019-2021. He is a Co-artistic Director of Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre and the recipient of the 2021 Jan V. Matejcek Classical Music Award from SOCAN and the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize. Ian is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.
He lives in Oakville with his wife and four children.

Evan Korbut is a Toronto-based Anishinaabe baritone, born in Sault Ste. Marie, ON who is quickly garnering praise for his work in traditional, and particularly, new opera. His lyric baritone has been called “beautiful” and his command of the stage “complete” (Operaramblings, 2019).

Evan’s recent seasons have included the title role of Louis Riel/Robideau in Manitoba Opera’s world premiere of Li Keur - Riel’s Heart of the North, a workshop with Art Impacts Inc. for the theatrical song cycle American Patriots, Handel’s Messiah with the Regina Symphony, and returning to VoiceBox: Opera in Concert for Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable as Bertram. He looks forward to reprising his role in Current’s Missing for Toronto Summer Music Festival, and debuts with Edmonton Opera for the world premiere of Cusson’s Indians on Vacation.

His 2022-23 season included multiple roles in Anchorage Opera’s Missing, by Métis playwright Marie Clements and Juno-winning composer Brian Current, and in recital with the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. 2021-22 saw the baritone appear in a variety of live and digital presentations including Bird in Ian Cusson’s Indians on Vacation as part of Edmonton Opera’s ‘Wild Rose Project’ of new Canadian operas, and as Virgil Thompson in The Mother of Us All and Michonnet in Adriana Levouvreur, both for Toronto’s VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert.

Evan is a Dora Award winner for his roles as Simms/Spirit Chorus in Shanawdithit by Dean Burry, produced jointly by Tapestry Opera and Opera on the Avalon. The Stuart Hamilton Memorial Award Winner starred as Jamie Paul in the world premiere of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, followed by the Canadian premiere of Schubert’s Fierabras for VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert. Other career highlights include Owl in the premiere of Vancouver Opera and Pacific Opera Victoria’s production of Flight of the Hummingbird by Maxime Goulet, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Marcello in La bohème, Tarquinius/Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Dandini in La cenerentola, Figaro/Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri, Publio in La clemenza di Tito, and Moses in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

Evan studied voice at the University of Western Ontario where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees.

Praised by The Globe and Mail for “...his silky, emotional presence on stage – both vocally and dramatically...”, Sri Lankan tenor Asitha Tennekoon has established himself as one of Canada’s most versatile singing artists. In 2017 he received a Dora Award for his acclaimed portrayal of Paul in Tapestry Opera/Scottish Opera’s Rocking Horse Winner. Asitha is sought after for performances spanning from Baroque to experimental repertoire.

This season, Asitha is the tenor soloist in Messiah (Grand Philharmonic Choir, Chorus Niagara) and continues to expand his reputation as an impressive interpreter of Bach’s Evangelists, with guest performances with Amadeus Choir (Christmas Oratorio) and Regina Symphony, (St. John Passion) as well as Cantatas with Toronto Bach Festival in 2026.

Asitha recently shared the stage with pianist Steven Philcox in “Belonging”, a solo recital for Women’s Musical Club of Toronto featuring works by Cusson, Vaughan Williams, Loren and Muhly, and looks forward to singing Britten’s St. Nicolas Cantata with Pax Christi Chorale.

Asitha has performed principal roles with Pacific Opera Victoria, Canadian Opera Company, Edmonton Opera, Opera de Montréal and Opera Lafayette. Recent highlights include Bill (Flight) with Vancouver Opera, Peter Quint (Turn of the Screw) with Opera 5, and Devon in Missing: In Concert with Toronto Summer Music Festival.

In 2026, Asitha returns to Pacific Opera Victoria as Spoletto in Tosca.

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.

New York City based Lighting Designer for opera, theatre, dance and special events. Credits include productions with the San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Opera San Jose, Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Soulpepper, on and off Broadway, special projects in film and television. Mentored by and worked along side some of the most critically acclaimed lighting designers in the world. Proudly completed the Hemsley Lighting Design Internship in 2010. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and a proud Member of Associated Designers of Canada.

Canadian/British Bass-Baritone Giles Tomkins is widely praised for his vocal virtuosity and lyricism in an impressive range of repertoire. His rich resonant voice brings "authority and power" to the concert and operatic stage.

Noted for his convincing portrayal of the philosopher Colline in La Bohème, Giles sang this favourite role in Against the Grain Theatre’s acclaimed 2019 “dive bar” touring production from the Yukon to Toronto. Giles has performed the role with Saskatoon Opera, Manitoba Opera and Pacific Opera Victoria.

This season, Giles adds Hamilton Philharmonic to his many Messiah performances, most recently with Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. His concert appearances include Elijah with Vancouver Bach Choir, Mozart's Requiem with Regina Symphony Orchestra, and Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with Vancouver Symphony. Giles looks forward to singing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in 2023 with Chorus Niagara.

Acclaimed operatic roles for Giles include Timur (Turandot), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Pistola (Falstaff), Superintendent Budd (Albert Herring), Leporello/Commendatore (Don Giovanni), and Sergeant of Police (Pirates of Penzance). His comedic talents as Don Basilio in Barber of Seville have been the highlight of productions throughout Canada. In 2022/23, Giles sings Sciarrone with Edmonton Opera’s Tosca and Fifth Jew in Salome with Canadian Opera Company.

Contemporary works include Gandalf in The Hobbit (Burry) with Canadian Children’s Opera Company, and Khodozat in The Overcoat (Rolfe/Panych), a coproduction of Canadian Stage/Tapestry Opera/Vancouver Opera.

Giles is featured in several OperaBreaks videos directed by François Racine and produced by Domoney Artists during the pandemic.

Photo by Gene Wu

Born and raised in Iloilo City, Philippines, baritone Danlie Rae Acebuque came to Canada in 2011 with his family in pursuit of a better life and opportunities.

Described for possessing “a warm lower resonance, brilliant top end and for being a gifted comedic actor” (Opera Canada), and for his “fresh, suave baritone” (Opera Canada), Filipino-Canadian baritone Danlie Rae Acebuque holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Master’s of Music in Opera Performance in the studio of the Canadian soprano, Frédérique Vézina at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music.

A recipient of several awards, dedicated, and passionate artist, Danlie Rae was the first recipient of the prestigious Ivan Alexandor Chorney Opera Scholarship at the University of Toronto in 2021 and in March of 2022, Danlie Rae became the recipient of the Stuart Hamilton Memorial Award with Voicebox Opera in Concert. In 2023, Danlie Rae was one of the Encouragement Award Recipients at The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition - Oregon District and one of Audience Choice at the MET’s Laffont Competition - Western Canada District.

An energetic, charismatic, versatile and moving performer, Danlie Rae performed the roles of Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), Gugliemo (Cosi fan tutte), Billy (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny), Escamillo (La Tragedie de Carmen), Top (The Tender Land), Reverend John Smithurst (Florence: The Lady with The Nightlamp) and Papageno (Die Zauberflöte).

In concert settings, Danlie Rae performed as a soloist in premiering both standard and new composed works such as Handel’s Messiah, To a clump of Moss by Matthew Luong at the UofT Composer Series, Mozart’s Requiem, world premiere of Alpha and Omega for mezzo-soprano and baritone by Kai Leung, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Brahm’s Ein Deutschess Requiem where live audiences praised his performances as heart grabbing, sensitive, and expressive. Danlie Rae helped premiered a Filipino art song cycle entitled Liham, a song cycle for mezzo-soprano/baritone and piano (music by Juro Kim Feliz; words by Riley Palanca) which was released in June 2025 with mezzo-soprano & producer, Renee Fajardo.

Danlie Rae was a Sidgwick Scholar with Orpheus Choir of Toronto and Pax Christi Chorale’s Bass section lead where he performed both as a soloist and ensemble member. Danlie Rae was also an Art of Song Fellow with Toronto Summer Music in 2021 and had participated in the first annual Canadian Opera Company Summer Intensive Program in 2022. In 2022, Danlie Rae appeared as the baritone soloist with Hart House Chorus for their Handel’s Messiah conducted by Daniel Norman, and with Chorus Niagara for their Christmas Concert titled Welcome Christmas where he performed Vaughan William’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Finzi’s In Terra Pax under the baton of Robert Cooper. In 2023, Danlie Rae returned on the main-stage with Voicebox: Opera in Concert as King Créon for their production of Cherubini’s Medée, and debuted his role as Dr. Falke for Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with the Toronto City Opera under the baton of Jennifer Tung. He had also participated in premiering a new opera work by Rebecca Gray titled The Bus at the Canadian Music Centre and with New Music Concerts. Danlie Rae was a mentor with Marigold Music Program where he helps inspire young high school students through music and personal goals.

This past season, Danlie Rae was a graduate of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera and currently an Emerging Artist with Edmonton Opera and Opera On The Avalon.

Outside of music, Danlie Rae enjoys baking, cooking and enjoying different kinds of street and comfort foods from different cultural background.

Photo by Curtis Perry

Toronto-based conductor and educator Sandra Horst is celebrated for her “superb direction” (La Scena), professionalism, and musical integrity throughout her thirty-year career. Recent conducting engagements include Orphée+ with Edmonton Opera, Florence, the Lady with the Lamp with Voicebox: Opera in Concert, and the premiere of Cusson and Vavrek’s Indians on Vacation at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Since 1998, she has served as the Price Family Chorus Master at the Canadian Opera Company, amassing a repertoire of over seventy operas to date. In past seasons, she has worked with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Juilliard Opera Centre, the Chautauqua Institution, and made her mainstage conducting debut at the Canadian Opera Company with Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims in 2002. Next season, she looks forward to conducting the COC Ensemble Studio’s performance of Rossini’s Barber of Seville. In 2022, Horst joined Tapestry Opera’s groundbreaking Women in Musical Leadership program as an industry mentor and was appointed to the board of the Association for Opera in Canada in 2024.

Photo by Gaetz Photography

Olga Korolyuk is a set and costume designer graduating from York University's BFA Theatre Program. She is thrilled to be working on this project!

Recent design credits include The Children's Hour, and People, Places and Things (Theatre@York). She is currently working on Snacey! The Musical (Fringe Kidsfest), and The 52 Live (Museum of Toronto).