Association for Opera in Canada partners with OPERA America to support the participation of two Canadians in their Leadership Intensive through tuition and travel subsidy.
The Leadership Intensive, OPERA America’s signature leadership development initiative, is a yearlong program for rising leaders in opera administration. Chosen from a competitive pool of applicants, each annual cohort convenes at our National Opera Center in New York for a week of seminars and trainings to advance their careers and establish strong professional connections. Throughout the subsequent year, participants come together at the annual conference and virtually to assess their growth and goals with expert faculty.
We are excited to announce that this year’s Canadian Participants are:
Julie McIsaac, Stage Director, Dramaturg, Podcast Host, Curator, Consultant
Based in British Columbia, Canada — where she lives and creates on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations) — Julie McIsaac reshapes and revitalizes the stories we sing on stage. As a stage director, dramaturg, creator, and consultant, she advocates for ingenuity and excellence in 21st-century opera and theater, staging new works for today’s audiences. McIsaac has worked closely with Canadian Opera Company (COC), where she served as the company’s first director/dramaturg-in-residence; led the curation of COC’s digital season in 2020–2021; acted as director/dramaturg for the acclaimed premiere of Fantasma; and now co-hosts the COC podcast Key Change. She holds a master’s degree in theater from the University of York (U.K.) and is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts and Carleton
Jennifer Szeto, Director, Atelier Lyrique de L’Opéra de Montréal
Pianist Jennifer Szeto carves a dynamic path as a performer, pedagogue, and administrator. She is a graduate of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship, Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, and Merola Opera Program. A sought- after coach and producer of contemporary works, she is the founding artistic director of Musique 3 Femmes, which commissions and produces operas by female composers and librettists in Canada. Recent credits include the world premieres of Keiko Devaux’s L’Écoute du perdu with Paramirabo and Le Vivier at Fonderie Darling and Laurence Jobidon and Pascale St-Onge’s L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi with Opéra de Montreal. Szeto also serves on the board of directors of the Association for Opera in Canada and on the opera faculty of Sewanee Music Center in Tennessee.
To view the full Press Release: Leadership Intensive 2023-24