In our official Preview Podcast for Vancouver Opera's new production of Carmen: Up Close and Personal and the 26th episode of Vancouver Opera Offstage, meet Brenna Corner, director and mastermind behind this brand-new digital opera. Brenna has worked as a director, actor, singer, choreographer, and fight director across Canada, the United States, and Europe. An alumnus of Vancouver Opera's Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Prog...

This very special 25th episode of Vancouver Opera Offstage is also the official Pre-Show talk for Vancouver Opera's The Music Shop, which premieres online Saturday, March 13. We're delighted to welcome Richard Wargo, composer of The Music Shop to talk about his creative inspirations for the opera and to share some tips for aspiring composers. Richard joins us from his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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In this episode, Les chats with prolific Canadian Stage Director Michael Cavanagh. No stranger to Vancouver Opera audiences, Michael has staged numerous productions over the years including–most recently–Otello, Madama Butterfly, and Nixon in China. We're thrilled that Michael has recently been appointed as Artistic Director of the Royal Swedish Opera. Les talks with Michael about his journey, his deep connection with VO, and t...

In our first episode of 2021, host Les Dala is joined by celebrated Canadian baritone Brett Polegato. Brett has sung on the most important stages of the world and is also a three-time Grammy Award recipient. VO Audiences will remember him last as Belcore in 2018's L'Elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love). Brett tells us about some of his favourite roles over the year and talks about the special importance of art, literatur...

In this special seasonal episode, our last podcast of 2020, Vancouver Opera Offstage has a holiday treat for our listeners: Les shares over 40 minutes of music recorded specifically for this podcast! Inspired by Menotti retracing his childhood memories of Christmas in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Les performs some solo piano music by Hungarian composers Franz Liszt, Béla Bartók, and Ernő Dohnányi, inspired by Christmas carols. Les...

In this episode, Les takes us on a behind the scenes glimpse into the creation of Vancouver Opera's next digital opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors. This new take on a delightful holiday classic has its digital premiere on Saturday December 12th, featuring an exciting BC cast alongside members of the Vancouver Opera Chorus. This podcast's guests include Stage Director Sarah Jane Pelzer, Andreas Dala (Amahl), and Stephanie ...

In this, our 20th episode, Les chats with two of Vancouver Opera's fabulous stage managers, Marijka Asbeek Brusse and Theresa Tsang. We'll go on a virtual tour of what goes on in opera in the rehearsal hall and from backstage of a major opera company. Theresa and Marijka will share experiences and challenges from their unique perspective and give us a unique glimpse of what some of their favourite productions look like from...

In this episode, Les speaks with Jim (James) Wright, former General Director of Vancouver Opera who led the company from 1999-2016. As the longest-serving General Director in the company's history,  Vancouver Opera presented a wide range of repertoire during his tenure including the world premieres of Lillian Alling, Stickboy, and the Canadian premiere of Nixon in China. Jim also oversaw the creation of our community engagement...

In this episode, Les chats with Canadian mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel, who will be starring in Vancouver Opera's Digital Season Opening Production, La Voix humaine. Last appearing as Siébel in Vancouver Opera's 2019 production of Faust, Mireille grew up in Vancouver and was a member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal before making critically successful debuts with opera companies and orchestras in Europe and Nort...

In this episode, Les chats with J. Patrick Raftery, who is professor of voice and opera at UBC and who has had an illustrious singing career as both a tenor and a baritone. Recipient of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Prize, Patrick has appeared on the world's greatest stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala and the Paris Opera to name a few. He has shared the stage with some of the greatest operati...

In this very special video and audio episode, Les is proud to feature a series of introductions from the talented participants of our 2020–2021 Yulanda M Faris Young Artists Program. We’ll be meeting Toronto-based stage director Dana Fradkin, Vancouver-based baritone Luka Kawabata, Toronto soprano Jonelle Sills, tenor Ian Cleary who hails from Chatham, Ontario, Vancouver-based pianist Amy Seulky Lee, and mezzo-soprano Amanda Weathe...

In this episode, Vancouver Opera's Director of Learning and Engagement, Colleen Maybin brings you an uplifting story about music, connection, and community. The Can You Hear Me? Project is an unique choral video from Vancouver Opera and longtime community partner, The Kettle Society, conceived as a way to shine a light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the members of The Kettle Choir and Writers Guild.

Run out of The Ke...

In this episode, Les chats with we're speaking with Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó from her home in Toronto. Highly sought after in North America and Europe on both opera stages and concert halls, Krisztina has an impressive repertoire ranging from Bach to Claude Vivier as well as several world premieres, including George Benjamin's opera Lessons in Love and Violence which was nominated for a Grammy award....

In this episode, Les catches up with internationally respected conductor David Agler. David was Music Director of Vancouver Opera from 1992 to 1999 and recently stepped down after a 16-year tenure as Artistic Director of the prestigious Wexford Festival. David has held leadership positions in opera companies throughout the world and guest conducted across Canada, the US and Europe. David joins us from his home in Vancouver.

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In this episode, Les chats with Teiya Kasahara & Asitha Tennekoon, co-founders of Amplified Opera. Teiya 笠原貞野 (they/them) is a queer, gender non-binary, multi-disciplinary performer/creator, and first-generation Nikkei-Canadian settler of Japanese and German roots. Teiya comes from a background of over a decade of singing both traditional and contemporary operatic roles across North America and Europe. VO audiences last saw the...

In this episode, Les chats with Nancy Hermiston, Director of the University of British Columbia Opera Ensemble, and Chair of the UBC School of Music's Voice and Opera Divisions. Nancy's prestigious career has taken her across the globe. She is the inspiration and mentor to many local artists including our recent guests Rachel Fenlon and Simone Osborne, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada for her achievements as an oper...

In this very special July 1st episode, Les is joined by co-host Colleen Maybin, Vancouver Opera's Director of Learning and Engagement. With international focus turning a critical eye on systemic racial injustice, this Canada Day will be a day of reflection for many. Guests Michael Hidetoshi Mori and Marion Newman join us for a discussion about cultural representation in opera and the directions that the art form can take to bet...

In this very special "Coaches in Conversation" episode, available in both video and audio, Les is joined by members of the wonderful music staff at Vancouver Opera: Kinza Tyrrell, Principle Répétiteur and Associate Chorus Director and Tina Chang, Pianist and Répétiteur. Les, Kinza, and Tina discuss the role of the répétiteur in opera and de-mystify this rather exotic-sounding title. This episode is available on Vancouver Op...

In this episode, Les catches up with Matthew White, Executive and Artistic Director of Early Music Vancouver. Matthew has served at the helm of Early Music Vancouver for eight years, and previously was Executive Director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle. Prior to that, he had already gained international acclaim as one of Canada’s leading countertenors and as the founding director of the Quebec-based ensemble Les Voix Baroques. Mat...