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Toronto – The Canadian Opera Company welcomes four new cast members for its spring season, stepping in for sopranos Sondra Radvanovsky and Olga Busuioc who must regrettably withdraw for personal and health reasons, respectively. Bulgarian soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska and Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska will now share the role of Lady Macbeth in the COC’s production of the classic Verdi opera. In addition, Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace and American soprano Keri Alkema will share the title role in Puccini’s Tosca.

“The nature of opera as a living art form means that, occasionally, life off stage will impact artists’ planned performances on stage,” says COC General Director Perryn Leech. “We wish Sondra and Olga the very best and look forward to working with them both in the future. Thanks to the COC’s strong international reputation and relationships with world-renowned artists all over the globe, I am delighted to welcome Alexandrina, Liudmyla, Sinéad, and Keri to our spring casts of Macbeth and Tosca­. Each of these star sopranos boasts an impressive list of achievements and I am thrilled they are part of our season. I cannot wait for them to light up the stage for our audiences.”

Pendatchanska (singing April 28, 30, May 6, and 12) is a three-time Grammy nominee and regular guest at some of the world’s most famous opera houses. Her performance in Macbeth this spring marks a return to the COC, having last been featured as Elisabetta in the company’s 2010 production of Maria Stuarda.

Monastyrska (singing May 14, 17, and 20) is acclaimed for her superb technical abilities, having delivered a “commanding performance” (Bachtrack) as Lady Macbeth at Royal Opera House and, later, with Bayerische Staatsoper; this is Monastyrska’s debut with the Canadian Opera Company.

The Guardian has lauded Campbell-Wallace (singing May 5, 7, 19, 21, 23, and 27) for her “blaz[ing]” voice, full of “great lyrical warmth”– this performance in Tosca marks the soprano’s COC house debut.

Alkema (singing May 11, 13) reprises the role from the COC’s 2017 production of Tosca, having last dazzled Toronto in Rusalka (2019), with her “appealing [vocal] brew of dark and creamy colors” (The New York Times).

For more information, please visit coc.ca.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Season Sponsor: BMO Financial Group

Production Sponsor for Tosca: CIBC

Production Sponsor for Macbeth: Power Corporation of Canada

Speranza Scappucci is generously sponsored by Kristine Vikmanis & Denton Creighton

Alexandrina Pendatchanska and Liudmyla Monastyrska are generously sponsored by an anonymous donor

Quinn Kelsey is generously sponsored by Sadhisha Ambagahawita, Melissa & Barry Avrich, and Al Ramsay & Michael Daniels

Charlotte Siegel is generously sponsored by Catherine Fauquier and Joy Levine

Midori Marsh is generously sponsored by Marcia Lewis Brown

Sandra Horst and the COC Chorus are generously underwritten by Tim & Frances Price

The COC Orchestra is generously sponsored, in part, by W. Bruce C. Bailey, in honour of Christie Darville, COC Deputy General Director, and Johannes Debus, COC Music Director, and in part by The Schulich Foundation

Thank you to the entire COC community, including our COC Board of Directors, our Corporate Sponsors and Foundation Supporters, generous public funders, union partners, and — most critically — our audience. Your inspiring support ensures that opera flourishes, uniting global audiences and paving the way for a vibrant future.


ABOUT THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY
Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. General Director Perryn Leech joined the company in 2021, forming a leadership team with Music Director Johannes Debus and Deputy General Director Christie Darville. The COC enjoys a loyal audience, including a dedicated base of subscribers, and has an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. Its diverse repertoire includes new commissions and productions, local and international collaborations with leading opera companies and festivals, and attracts the world’s foremost Canadian and international artists. The company is an incubator for the future of the art form, nurturing Canada’s new wave of opera performers and creators with customized training and support. The COC’s purpose-built opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, is hailed internationally as one of the finest in the world. For more information, visit coc.ca. 

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For more information, please contact: 
Avril Sequeira, Director of Public Relations, email: [email protected]
Davin Leivonen-Fok, Communications Coordinator, email: [email protected]