Industry News (February 2026)

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Appointments

On Jan. 6, Paris Opera announced the appointment of Semyon Bychkov as music director, effective Aug. 1, 2028, for a four-season term. Beginning Aug. 1, 2026, he will oversee the musical ensembles of Paris Opera as music director designate, monitoring the artistic quality of the company’s orchestra, chorus and vocal coaches and recruitment of musicians. Bychkov has worked with Paris Opera for close to 20 years, leading productions such as Un ballo in maschera (2007), Tristan and Isolde (2008), Elektra (2022) and their upcoming Eugene Onegin. 

In November, Festival de Lanaudière named Laurie-Anne Deilgat as its new executive director, taking over from Clément Joubert who held the role from October 2024. Previously, Deilgat spent 12 years with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, latterly as its director of sales and customer service from 2022 to 2025. 

In the News

On Jan. 9, Washington National Opera announced its intention to leave the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, its home since 1971. This is the most significant example of a recent spate of cancellations in protest of President Donald Trump’s efforts to remake and rename the high-profile arts hub in his own image. The company has resolved to leave as soon as possible. Officials have said the decision to leave was impacted by a drop in attendance and a decline in donations during Trump’s second term.

Awards

Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley has been named Vocalist of the Year at the 65th annual Musical America Awards. Finley is now in the fourth decade of an illustrious career that spans opera, song, concert works and numerous new commissions. Along the way, he has garnered many significant honours including Grammy and JUNO awards, as well as appointments as an Officer of the Order of Canada, and Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2024 he was made Kammersänger at the Bavarian State Opera, and in 2017 he was featured on a Canadian postage stamp. 

Competitions

In November, Edmonton Opera announced the winners of its Rumbold Vocal Prize. Baritone Korin Thomas-Smith won the $12,000 first prize, as well as the $3,500 Yukon Residency Prize and the Grace Audience Choice Award ($1,000). Bass Duncan Stenhouse won the $8,000 second prize and soprano Hannah Crawford and mezzo-soprano Queen Hezumuryango were tied for third prize, each receiving $5,000. 

Canadian Opera Company held its Ensemble Studio Competition in late October, at which three singers took the top prizes. Soprano Nikan Ingabire Kanate won first prize ($12,500) and the audience prize ($3,000). Mezzo-soprano Camila Montefusco took second prize ($8,000), while baritone Søren Pedersen was awarded third prize ($5,000), newly-named in honour of the late Canadian soprano, Erin Wall.

At its October 2025 Gala Talent, Opéra de Montréal announced two winners. The $10,000 Jury Prize was awarded to tenor Jeremy Scinocca and the $5,000 Stingray Music Star Award went to soprano Nikan Ingabire Kanate. 

Young Artists

Canadian Opera Company has announced two new members of its Ensemble Studio for the 2026-27 season. Sopranos Nikan Ingabire Kanate and Sarah Caulfield will join five returning Ensemble Studio artists entering their second year of the program: mezzo-soprano Ariana Maubach, tenor Angelo Moretti, bass-baritone Nick Murphy, soprano Emma Pennell, baritone Ben Wallace, and pianist/coaches Elisabeta Cojocaru and Kimly Wang.

Two Canadian artists will join San Francisco Opera as 2026 Adler Fellows. Oakville soprano Alexa Frankian and Toronto collaborative pianist Brian Cho will work under the guidance of Canadian pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson, artistic director of the San Francisco Opera Center, the company’s young artist training arm.   

In Memoriam

Italian-born Canadian soprano Maria Pellegrini died on Dec. 28 at the age of 86. She emigrated to Canada in 1958 at age 19, and soon began studies with Ernesto Vinci at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music in 1960. Pellegrini made her professional opera debut in 1963 as the High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida with the Canadian Opera Company. This led to a long association with the company in roles such as Gilda, Aida, Cio-Cio San, Nedda and Violetta. Pellegrini also enjoyed considerable international success, including her Royal Opera debut as Gilda in 1968 and Cio-Cio San at Sadler’s Wells in 1969. The latter was a signature role for the soprano, including a 1977 nationally broadcast production of Madama Butterfly for CBC Television and for her 1982 New York City Opera debut. Other Canadian opera companies she performed with included Calgary Opera, Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera, Vancouver Opera, and now-defunct Opera Hamilton and Opera Lyra. In later years in Ottawa, Pellegrini taught and oversaw the eponymous opera company she founded with her son, Vincent Thomas. 

Dr. Ante L. Padjen, whose life was dedicated to both art and science, died on Nov. 3. Enrolled in music school at an early age, he was inspired to pursue medicine after being diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 14. As a medical student, he founded the Jeunesses Musicales Orchestra in Zagreb. He later joined McGill’s Faculty of Medicine as a professor of Pharmacology. In 1989, Padjen founded his living legacy, the I Medici di McGill Orchestra.

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