Newswire | Opera 5 Announces Program for Second Toronto Opera Festival

TORONTO, ON- Today Opera 5 announces their 2026 season, featuring the return of the Toronto Opera Festival after a highly successful inaugural festival last June this time at Theatre Passe Muraille from June 3 – 14, 2026. The June 2026 festival features two exciting productions, including a double bill of Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi and the world premiere of Parḗlios by Canadian composer Cecilia Livingston and librettist Duncan McFarlane.

Last season’s inaugural edition drew record audiences, showcased exceptional performances, and received widespread critical acclaim.

“Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival was a smashing success on all fronts…Let’s hope Opera 5 repeats the festival on an annual basis. The enthusiastic audiences seemed to be hungry for it.”

– Paula Citron with Ludwig van Toronto

This year’s festival opens with a double bill of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, pairing a heartbreaking tale of a woman confronting her fate with a laugh-out-loud dysfunctional family comedy. Together, these two operas offer audiences an emotionally rich, deeply satisfying evening of theatre. Canadian treasures, baritone Gregory Dahl will be performing the role of Gianni Schicchi and mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó will be portraying both the Zia Principessa and Zita. General Director of Opera 5 and soprano Rachel Krehm will sing the role of Suor Angelica. Leading the creative team of the double bill will be Opera 5’s Jessica Derventzis and Evan Mitchell. Set and costumes will be designed by Carlyn Rahusaar Routledge and lighting design by Siobhan Sleath.

“Suor Angelica is a heartbreakingly beautiful work, where Puccini’s luminous orchestration illuminates themes of sacrifice, grief, and spiritual transcendence. Gianni Schicchi, by contrast, dazzles with razor-sharp wit and brilliant comic timing, its lively score propelling the zany antics of a greedy, deceitful family—and one cunning outsider determined to outsmart them. Together, these operas have taken my emotional range (and my Kleenex budget) to new heights.”

– Jessica Derventzis, Artistic Director of Opera 5

The centerpiece of the Festival will be the world premiere of Parḗlios. Directed and choreographed by Jennifer Nichols and music directed by Evan Mitchell. Parḗlios is an ambitious, multidisciplinary work that sits at the intersection of opera, installation, and oratorio. Exploring themes of climate change, migration, and humanity’s connection to the planet, Parḗlios will feature the acclaimed TorQ Percussion Quartet, a choir, and a diverse, gender-expansive cast of Canadian soloists. Three contemporary dancers will be integrated into the staging, adding a physical and visual dimension that underscores the work’s focus on transformation and movement. The design team will include Siobhan Sleath (lighting), Chris Faris (costumes), and Nathan Bruce (projections.)

“Inspired by Olafur Eliasson’s installation The Weather Project, Parḗlios is the latest in a series of works we’ve created that respond to visual art as a starting point for explorations of voice, movement, and staging–blurring the boundaries of genre. We’re so excited to collaborate with the incredible musicians of TorQ Percussion Quartet to bring a startling sound palette to this new work and we look forward to sharing it with Opera 5’s audiences!”

– Cecilia Livingston and Duncan McFarlane

The festival cast will be featured in one of the Canadian Opera Company’s Free Concert Series on May 13, 2026 at 12pm.

Finally, Opera 5 is excited to announce the next iteration of the Portfolio Artist Internship program in partnership with Opera McGill at the Schulich School of Music. Now in this third year, the program has expanded to support thirteen early-career opera artists who will take the stage across our festival season while covering roles in the Puccini double bill. They will also participate in professional development workshops and build new skills in design, production, or administration through mentorship with our team and hands-on roles beyond performing. In addition, the interns will be featured in a concert presented by the Canadian Opera Company’s Free Concert Series on May 4, 2026 at 12pm.

Opera 5’s mission has always been to celebrate Canadian artistry and create opportunities for new talent to shine, which is why launching a festival that brings together established and emerging artists felt essential. The Toronto Opera Festival reflects our commitment to championing Canadian creators and presenting socially relevant, forward-thinking work that expands the possibilities of opera.

This is Opera 5’s biggest and most ambitious season to date. With so many incredible Canadian artists in the lineup, we’ll be rolling out the full casting announcement gradually so we can celebrate each artist in our 2026 festival. Stay tuned for more announcements including the Portfolio Artist Interns 2026 and more cast and crew for the Toronto Opera Festival 2026.

Opera 5 is an independent opera company in Toronto with over a decade of producing experience and is known for programming opera favourites in new fresh ways, bringing unknown operas that deserve to be heard to the stage, and commissioning new Canadian operas. Opera 5 is also known for our popular web series Opera Cheats, which deconstructs opera plots and opera-going rules with a humorous twist. You can watch the series at www.opera5.ca/opera-cheats and our web series Threepenny Submarine which combines puppetry, animation, and opera.