Stories
The mission to enhance the well-being of all Canadians has long been central to Canada Life’s values, and it starts with our youngest citizens. As the lead sponsor of Manitoba Opera’s education and community engagement initiatives. Canada Life develops healthy communities by ensuring young people have access to arts education and the transformative power of […]
With the curtain down on La Bohème, sisters Ianthe (13) and Daphne (11) Groumoutis, who were both members of the production’s Children’s Chorus, have had a chance to think about their experience. […]
For sisters Daphne Groumoutis, 11, and Ianthe Groumoutis, 13, singing is just part of their daily lives.
“They’re brushing their teeth, and they’re singing. They’re doing their homework, and they’re singing,” says their mom, Melina Xinos Alexakis. “From the moment they come home from school, they’re both constantly singing.” […]
Academy Florist has been creating beautiful floral designs since 1980. In 2022, Allyson Coleman and Kayla Robinson took over as the proud new owners and have continued the company’s tradition of creative floral arrangements. […]
Ken and Lynn Cooper, longtime supporters of Manitoba Opera, have lived in many places, including Toronto, Vancouver, and Dallas. As Ken relates, one of the things that brought them home to Winnipeg was “the incredible cultural base of this city. […]
The fall production of The Elixir of Love was a shining example of partnership success. The opening night of Manitoba Opera’s 2024/25 season was kicked off with a reception and dinner that set the stage for a memorable evening. […]
Longtime volunteer Kurt Schwarz loves to give his time to Manitoba Opera because it connects him with the people and programs that make the opera season so exciting. But for Kurt, who works in spiritual care in a Winnipeg-based hospital, it’s also important to support Manitoba Opera by making an individual financial donation. […]
Manitoba Opera captivated audiences with The Elixir of Love, a magical production brought to life with the generous support of Johnston Group. As a leading provider of employee benefits and group insurance solutions, Johnston Group has long been a pillar of support in our community. Johnston Group’s sponsorship of The Elixir of Love reflects their […]
“It inspires me to see great performances,” says Dale Sulymka. “You watch the crowd coming out after a Manitoba Opera performance and everyone’s happy. There’s a kind of buzz.”
Dale knows about the work that goes into making these moments happen. He’s retired now, but for seven years he was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Manitoba Opera, and before that he worked with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet for 24 years.
“Being in arts administration for 30 years, I know the financial side can be challenging,” Dale states. That’s why as Manitoba Opera’s CFO he advocated for an endowment campaign. […]
We are deeply grateful to BMO for their unwavering support of Manitoba Opera. As our Season Presenting Sponsor since 2017, BMO’s generous contributions have allowed opera to flourish here at home, enabling us to bring powerful stories to life and share them with our community. […]
This month, Manitoba Opera proudly celebrates the fifth anniversary of our Digital Emerging Artists Program (DEAP). Launched in 2020 to support opera singers during the pandemic, DEAP provided crucial development opportunities for artists when live performances were paused. […]
For The Asper Foundation, support for Manitoba Opera comes from a very personal place. The late Babs Asper was a champion of culture who demonstrated unwavering support for the local arts, even serving on the Manitoba Opera Board of Trustees through the 1980s. […]
Canada Life is passionate about promoting diversity and advancing reconciliation across Canada. Their long-standing support for Manitoba Opera underscores the transformational role that art and opera can play in making meaningful change, exemplified during Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North, the first Indigenous-led opera on a Canadian mainstage. […]
“Like flowers, the opera can inspire, connect, and bring beauty into the lives of Winnipeggers,” says Allyson Coleman, co-owner of Academy Florist. This alignment with the core values and mission of Academy Florist is one of the many reasons they support Manitoba Opera as the Season Flower Sponsor. […]
The partnership between Manitoba Opera and IG Wealth Management is built on shared values of community empowerment and cultural vibrancy. With Manitoba Opera’s dedication to bringing the magic of opera to Manitoba and IG’s commitment to improving the financial well-being of Canadians and supporting communities from coast to coast, their collaboration is poised to make a significant impact. […]
Manitoba Liquor Marts is an important sponsor of Manitoba Opera’s 2023/24 season, reflecting a joint dedication to enriching the cultural landscape of our province. Through sponsorship, the commitment to community support is driven by a clear mission: to enrich the lives of Manitobans by fostering economic, environmental, and social well-being throughout the province. […]
Perspectives from Michael Cavanagh (Originally printed in 50th Anniversary Concert program, February 2023) For five decades Manitoba Opera has touched the lives of thousands through music and song, creating memories that last a lifetime. Throughout our 50th anniversary season, we will be sharing just some of these wonderful stories and personal recollections. This instalment […]
Last November, in the heart of Manitoba, the world premiere of “Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North” celebrated Métis culture and drew visitors from far and wide. The celebration showcased Manitoba’s vibrant cultural community and its ability to attract national and international attention. […]
Payworks’ journey began over two decades ago in Winnipeg, the hometown of its founders. And while they’ve rapidly expanded nationwide, the company has always maintained a strong
connection to its roots. This connection is evident in Payworks’ commitment to multi-faceted community support and to fostering a culture of mutual success. […]
Stantec enthusiastically supports the arts, offering local artists and performers a valuable opportunity to showcase their work and connect with the audience. An industry leader in professional design and consulting services, Stantec makes community support an integral part of their business. […]
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, Anisininew, 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
Season Creative Design:
