Physicist Dr. Rebecca Danos has pursued her passion all her life. When something sparks her interest, she dives in wholeheartedly. From her physics doctoral studies at McGill and later postdoctoral work, to becoming a novelist and published poet and essayist, she has never done anything half way. “I don’t have hobbies, just passions,” declares Dr. Danos.

In addition to her scientific and literary pursuits, she has also turned her passion towards music. When the pandemic began she soon found both solace and connection through opera. “Via opera we can travel in our imagination and escape our isolation,” explains Dr. Danos.  “We access human emotion and experiences that connect us through history to the composers.”

Watching the MET livestreams and engaging with the wealth of online content suddenly at her finger tips, Dr. Danos also connected to her own community by sharing meaningful productions with friends and family. As she puts it, “Music provides community, a spiritual connection to something larger than ourselves, and awe.”

Dr. Danos finds this connection and awe in every opera she has experienced, and considers each new one to be her favourite. “I’ve loved every opera I’ve ever seen, but presently I wish I had a recording of Manitoba Opera’s The Barber of Seville for comic relief.”

Dr. Danos herself was only five years old when she had her first experience with opera, and it struck her to the core. Watching Zeffirelli’s film of La Traviata created an impressionistic memory of beauty, pain, and love “I recall an almost spiritual magic.”

It is this magic that draws Dr. Danos to opera, and why she is so passionate about it. It is also why she chose to become a Manitoba Opera donor. She believes strongly that opera is not a luxury, but a necessity, and wants to help sustain it in our community in any way she can. As she puts it, “Medicine saves lives, but art does too.”

She encourages others to donate as well. “You are investing in your future.  In beauty. In joy.  In community.  In a chance to experience why life is worth living. In the health of our cultural inheritance.”

Dr. Danos also extends her passionate thanks to everyone involved in performing arts in Winnipeg.

“For your dedication. For creating a welcoming community.  For not giving up in difficult times. For your generous hearts.  For your passion and help to sustain our souls.  For keeping beauty, joy, and magic alive.”

With those beautiful words, we would also like to thank YOU Dr. Danos, for supporting Manitoba Opera. That beauty, joy, and magic is also alive because of you and our other donors who believe, as we do, that opera is part of what makes life worth living.