Stories
As the underwriter of Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North, BMO’s support takes center stage by celebrating diversity and promoting cultural impact. The bank’s steadfast commitment to engaging
with Indigenous communities finds harmony with Manitoba Opera’s November production. […]
In the heart of Winnipeg’s vibrant arts sector, community supporters hold an unwavering commitment to making opera accessible to everyone. The vehicle for this movement is Manitoba Opera’s Opera Access Program which serves as a bridge, connecting the opera house with the broader community. […]
By Nicole Stonyk with mention and gratitude to the translators, and contributions from Dr. Suzanne Steele’s essay, Li Keur Aesthetic Translation of Indigenous Languages Database Li Keur re-imagines the 19th century in the heart of the north and will be a different experience for the regular operagoer. Typically, operas are written in German, […]
In the heart of Winnipeg, there’s a company that’s been resonating with community spirit for over 40 years. Johnston Group, a proud Winnipeg-based industry leader in group benefit programs, is a devoted supporter of the local arts community. […]
In the heart of Winnipeg, where the Red River flows and the arts flourish, one organization has been a pillar of support for Manitoba Opera’s mission to enrich the cultural tapestry of the community. With a legacy of community service, Red River Co-op has extended its reach to support the upcoming opera production, Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North. […]
By Nicole Stonyk, with mention and gratitude to Jennine Krauchi and Sherry Farrell-Racette Indigenous beadwork is a significant component of cultural expression. After falling out of predominance due to various factors including cultural loss through residential and day schools, disenfranchisement, displacement and racism, beadwork is now seeing a resurgence amongst contemporary artists. In conversation with […]
Canada Life’s commitment to reconciliation and fostering cross-cultural understanding takes center stage with their support of Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North, an epic new opera that celebrates Métis culture and showcases the talent of Indigenous artists in Canada. […]
The 2023 Digital Emerging Artist Program (DEAP), now in its fourth consecutive year, has a new cohort of artists participating this month. Facilitated online, DEAP is dedicated to nurturing creativity and stretching the digital skills of emerging artists. DEAP is made possible with the invaluable support of RBC Emerging Artists. As a dedicated sponsor, RBC Emerging Artists is playing a vital role in shaping the trajectory of emerging talent in the arts. […]
Audrey Hubbard has seen opera grow and change a great deal in Manitoba throughout her 95 years. By making a planned gift to Manitoba Opera’s Endowment Fund, she is excited to be part of that growth well into the future.
Audrey caught the opera bug as a young girl during the Second World War. A traveling company had come to town to perform in the old auditorium (now the Archives Building), and Audrey’s father took her family to see Rigoletto. […]
As our tagline “sing a new story” suggests, Manitoba Opera is becoming an opera company for the 21st century. On the heels of celebrating the company’s 50th season anniversary, we have reaffirmed our commitment to building community through opera, which has been made possible with the generous support of BMO, our Season Presenting Sponsor. […]
Tusia Kozub, Karin Woods, and Koren Kaminski are three sisters whose involvement with Manitoba Opera spans decades. On some performance nights, you might have seen Tusia working as assistant stage manager, stage left, Koren as the assistant stage manager holding down stage right, and Karin on stage singing in the chorus. For the sisters, working […]
In Manitoba Opera’s recent production of Così fan tutte, Italian sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi came to Canada for a new experience and for that sense of wonder and adventure that travelling provides. The arts can also provide a sense of wonder and rich experiences. All it takes is a little passion and an investment from […]
For dedicated opera lover Kurt Schwarz, volunteering is a way of putting feeling into action. “I wanted to spread the word about Manitoba Opera,” he explains. “I wanted to really encourage people to get involved, and I did that by getting involved myself. “I’ll do whatever it takes to promote opera within our city and […]
When Rosalind Dick thinks about Manitoba Opera, she thinks about music. But she also thinks about people. “It’s the people who make the opera,” according to Rosalind, known to her many friends as Roz. […]
A supporter since 1972, Canada Life is one of Manitoba Opera’s oldest partners. While both organizations have evolved over the past 50 years, they remain connected in their understanding of how important a thriving arts and culture sector is for our community. […]
The musical experiences of Anna Huisman and her daughter, Monica, span almost the full five decades of Manitoba Opera’s existence. Anna started singing in the MO chorus in 1974, and Monica recently co-hosted 50th season anniversary concert. In between, they’ve sometimes shared the stage, and they’ve always shared their passionate love of opera. […]
Dr. Elizabeth Tippett Pope and Dr. Bill Pope have a long history with Manitoba Opera, as supporters, donors, board members, and just out-and-out fans.
Winnipeg-raised Bill grew up with music. “I’m an instrumentalist. I did the whole piano thing, and I was a student of Jean Broadfoot (the legendary Winnipeg teacher).” The English-born Elizabeth, on the other hand, admits to coming from “a totally unmusical family. […]
Payworks is committed to “Doing Right by People”, not because they have to, but because it’s who they are. A leading expert in workforce management solutions with a multitude of awards to back it up, Payworks is proud to be a Canadian owned and operated company that values giving back to the community they serve. […]
When Juno Award-winning performer Al Simmons was growing up in Anola, Manitoba, his family listened to all kinds of music. Now known for his inimitable blend of ingenious gadgets, wacky humour, and wonderfully preposterous songs, he recalls his first exposure to opera was―no surprise here―essentially comic. […]
Asked how she came to work at Manitoba Opera, Jeanie Dubberley laughs. “It’s a very long story,” she says, and it’s a little serendipitous. Jeanie, who was a go-to administrative multitasker for the company from 1983 to 1992, was working as a teller at the Royal Bank of Canada branch at Portage and Fort, and “one day a gentleman came in, and it was Bruce Lang, at the time the only paid employee of Manitoba Opera, except for the production people. He was the administrative director.” […]
Taylor McCaffrey Lawyers is committed to delivering excellence while building lasting relationships with its clients. Their years of service to the citizens of Winnipeg have centered around listening and showing generosity to the community they serve. […]
Long-time Manitoba Opera volunteer Hedie Epp first heard opera when she was growing up in the small Mennonite community of Springstein, Manitoba. Her relationship with the art form didn’t start well. […]
Lyric coloratura soprano Nikki Einfeld has been based in California for more than two decades, as a former Adler Fellow and Merola alumna with the San Francisco Opera. But she’s a “born and raised Winnipegger,” she says, and she still thinks of Manitoba Opera as her home company. […]
The Pollack Braun Blatt Advisory Group at CIBC Wood Gundy believes that we should all be expecting more. And just like Angelina (Cenerentola) in La Cenerentola, this multigenerational wealth management practice also believes in the power of dreams to design the kind of lives that we all envision for ourselves. Often these dreams need […]
Patricia Bovey, art historian, curator, former director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and long-time supporter of Manitoba Opera, knows the value of culture. As an Independent Senator for Manitoba, she advocates passionately for the importance of the arts in every aspect of Canadian life. […]
The program’s first Independent Learner was Winnipeg artist Ritchie Diggs, for whom participating in the program was a life-changing experience. It provided him with the reassurance and encouragement he needed to recommit to his artistic journey at a time when he was questioning his options. […]
What began as a program to help emerging artists step into the next stage of their careers has now evolved into a place for artistic discovery. Hosting its third consecutive year of singers, Manitoba Opera’s Digital Emerging Artist Program (DEAP) engages artists from across the country for a four‑week multidisciplinary course of intensive skill building and creative exploration. […]
For a full-service law firm, Taylor McCaffrey’s philosophy is simple: provide exceptional legal advice, be kind and contribute back to the communities in which they live and work. Supporting local charities is one of the ways Taylor McCaffrey contributes back. […]
Our Land Acknowledgement:
Manitoba Opera is located upon, and operates within, Treaty #1 territory, the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples’ traditional lands and waters and the Red River Métis Nation homelands.
As water nourishes the land and all it gives us, we also acknowledge that the source of the City of Winnipeg’s water is from Shoal Lake, the home and shared territory of Iskatewizaagegan No. 39 Independent Nation and Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
In view of such understandings and acknowledgments, Manitoba Opera remains committed to working in partnership with the Indigenous peoples in the spirit of truth, reconciliation, and collaboration.
Room 1060, 555 Main Street, Wpg. R3B 1C3
(Lower Level, Centennial Concert Hall)
P 204-944-8824 | F 204-949-0377
mbopera@manitobaopera.mb.ca
