In this very special video and audio episode, Les is proud to feature a series of introductions from the talented participants of our 2020–2021 Yulanda M Faris Young Artists Program. We’ll be meeting Toronto-based stage director Dana Fradkin, Vancouver-based baritone Luka Kawabata, Toronto soprano Jonelle Sills, tenor Ian Cleary who hails from Chatham, Ontario, Vancouver-based pianist Amy Seulky Lee, and mezzo-soprano Amanda Weatherall, originally from Cranbrook, BC.

The Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists program was created to offer a bridge between formal academic educational programs and the professional world in a supportive and encouraging environment. It provides artists–singers, pianists and stage directors–with the opportunity to train with industry leaders through master classes, one on one coachings and performance opportunities as part of a residency program. Be sure to catch these wonderful artists in action by subscribing to our 2020–2021 Digital season, where they will star in The Music Shop and La Tragédie de Carmen.

We'd love to hear from you if you have any feedback or suggestions for upcoming guests. You can reach us via email at [email protected], and don't forget to check out this episode's special features, including Spotify playlists from each of our Young Artists on our website at We'd love to hear from you if you have any feedback or suggestions for upcoming guests. You can reach us via email at [email protected], and don't forget to check out this episode's special features, including Spotify playlists from each of our Young Artists on our website and the video version of this episode at vancouveropera.ca/offstage.

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In this episode, Vancouver Opera's Director of Learning and Engagement, Colleen Maybin brings you an uplifting story about music, connection, and community. The Can You Hear Me? Project is an unique choral video from Vancouver Opera and longtime community partner, The Kettle Society, conceived as a way to shine a light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the members of The Kettle Choir and Writers Guild.

Run out of The Kettle on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver, these two unique programs provide Kettle members with weekly singing rehearsals, one-on-one songwriting lessons, and writing workshops by lead teaching artists from Vancouver Opera. When the Phase One lockdown was announced in mid-March, the weekly rehearsals and writing sessions were cancelled for the foreseeable future. The sudden lack of access to the programs and services used by Kettle members was devastating, replacing a routine of connecting with others and creating with isolation and uncertainty. The Can You Hear Me? Project emerged out of a desire to find a way of bringing singing and connection back into their lives. The result is a new song written by and for the singers of the choir, transforming adversity into creative inspiration.

Guests speaking on behalf of the project are Composer and Music Director Lesley Sutherland, actor and singer Jerry LaFaery from The Kettle Choir, and Project Producer Coreen Douglas from The Kettle Society.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Colleen, Jerry, Coreen, and Lesley's Spotify playlist, Les's Spotify Pick of the Week and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this episode, Les chats with we're speaking with Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó from her home in Toronto. Highly sought after in North America and Europe on both opera stages and concert halls, Krisztina has an impressive repertoire ranging from Bach to Claude Vivier as well as several world premieres, including George Benjamin's opera Lessons in Love and Violence which was nominated for a Grammy award. She last appeared at Vancouver Opera as Donna Elvira in the 2014 production of Don Giovanni. We are thrilled to welcome Krisztina to Vancouver, who has recently been appointed Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at the UBC School of Music.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Krisztina's Spotify playlist, Les's Spotify Pick of the Week and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this episode, Les catches up with internationally respected conductor David Agler. David was Music Director of Vancouver Opera from 1992 to 1999 and recently stepped down after a 16-year tenure as Artistic Director of the prestigious Wexford Festival. David has held leadership positions in opera companies throughout the world and guest conducted across Canada, the US and Europe. David joins us from his home in Vancouver.

Check out our special features for the episode, including an interview with David by Radio-Canada's Sylvia L’Écuyer and Les's Spotify Pick of the Week at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this episode, Les chats with Teiya Kasahara & Asitha Tennekoon, co-founders of Amplified Opera. Teiya 笠原貞野 (they/them) is a queer, gender non-binary, multi-disciplinary performer/creator, and first-generation Nikkei-Canadian settler of Japanese and German roots. Teiya comes from a background of over a decade of singing both traditional and contemporary operatic roles across North America and Europe. VO audiences last saw them as the Queen of the Night in our 2013 BC First Nations inspired production of The Magic Flute. Sri Lankan tenor Asitha Tennekoon was winner of the 2016/17 Dora Award for Best Male Performance in Opera for his depiction of Paul in Tapestry Opera's Rocking Horse Winner and was last seen at Vancouver Opera in The Overcoat as The Manager. Asitha is also the creator of the blog Wandelprobe, in which he provides a platform for meaningful discourse on the state of opera.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Teiya & Asitha's Spotify playlists, Les's Pick of the Week and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this episode, Les chats with Nancy Hermiston, Director of the University of British Columbia Opera Ensemble, and Chair of the UBC School of Music's Voice and Opera Divisions. Nancy's prestigious career has taken her across the globe. She is the inspiration and mentor to many local artists including our recent guests Rachel Fenlon and Simone Osborne, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada for her achievements as an opera singer, stage director and educator.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Nancy's Spotify playlist, a couple of Nancy's favourite historical YouTube videos, Les's Pick of the Week: a full streaming video recording of UBC Opera's The Passenger, and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this very special July 1st episode, Les is joined by co-host Colleen Maybin, Vancouver Opera's Director of Learning and Engagement. With international focus turning a critical eye on systemic racial injustice, this Canada Day will be a day of reflection for many. Guests Michael Hidetoshi Mori and Marion Newman join us for a discussion about cultural representation in opera and the directions that the art form can take to better reflect the experiences of Canada's cultural mosaic. Michael is the general director of Tapestry Opera, which in May of 2019 produced the world-premiere of Shanawdithit, a landmark Canadian-Indigenous opera by Dean Burry and Yvette Nolan. Starring in the title role of Shanawdithit, was Marion Newman, who is a Canadian mezzo-soprano of Kwagiulth and Stó:lo First Nations, English, Irish, and Scottish roots, and a co-founder of Amplified Opera. Marion also sang in Vancouver Opera's 2013 First Nations inspired production of The Magic Flute.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Marion and Michael's Spotify playlists, Les and Colleen's Spotify selection of the week, clips from Shanadiwthit, Missing, and The Magic Flute, and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this very special "Coaches in Conversation" episode, available in both video and audio, Les is joined by members of the wonderful music staff at Vancouver Opera: Kinza Tyrrell, Principle Répétiteur and Associate Chorus Director and Tina Chang, Pianist and Répétiteur. Les, Kinza, and Tina discuss the role of the répétiteur in opera and de-mystify this rather exotic-sounding title. This episode is available on Vancouver Opera’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube) as well as from your usual subscriptions in audio.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Kinza & Tina's Spotify playlist, Les' Spotify selection of the week, and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this episode, Les catches up with Matthew White, Executive and Artistic Director of Early Music Vancouver. Matthew has served at the helm of Early Music Vancouver for eight years, and previously was Executive Director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle. Prior to that, he had already gained international acclaim as one of Canada’s leading countertenors and as the founding director of the Quebec-based ensemble Les Voix Baroques. Matthew gives us a peek into his exciting plans this summer for Early Music Vancouver, a deep dive about his journey from in-demand performer to arts administrator, and some thoughts on collaborations and early music performance in the world of today.

Keep an eye out on Vancouver Opera's social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube) next week for a very special video episode of Vancouver Opera Offstage with Les Dala: Coaches in Conversation with special guests Kinza Tyrrell and Tina Chang! The episode will also be available from your usual subscriptions in audio.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Matthew's Spotify playlist, Les' Spotify selection of the week, and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

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In this episode, originally recorded on May 8th, 2020, Les speaks with soprano and pianist Rachel Fenlon. Raised in Victoria, BC and currently based in Berlin, Rachel began her professional career at Vancouver Opera as part of the inaugural year of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program. Her roles with VO have included Pamina in The Magic Flute, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and most recently, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 2017). Rachel's show, Fenlon & Fenlon, in which she is featured in the dual role as singer and pianist, has been presented across Canada and Europe. Rachel joins us from Berlin, Germany where she is currently based, and shares her perspectives on challenging expectations as a singer and pianist, the different feelings between live and streaming performance, as well as keeping a busy digital performing schedule during a pandemic. Rachel also discusses hosting her new show Classical (R)evolution on the Idagio LIVE streaming classical music platform.

Check out our special features for the episode, including Rachel's Spotify playlist, Les' Spotify selection of the week, and more at www.vancouveropera.ca/offstage!

Support the show (http://tickets.vancouveropera.ca/dev/contribute.aspx)