A new general director can change the feel of an opera company long before their first programmed season arrives. We’re joined by Ian Derrer, newly arrived in Toronto and stepping into leadership at the Canadian Opera Company, to talk about the path that brought him here and what he’s listening for as he gets to know the COC from the inside.

Ian shares how growing up around rehearsals turned into a career that moved from singing ambitions to backstage work, stage management and ultimately opera administration at major institutions. We dig into what opera leadership really looks like day-to-day: solving immediate problems, planning multiple seasons years in advance, and keeping artists and staff supported while the organization also has to fundraise, market and build public trust.

We also spotlight what’s coming up, including the world premiere of Empire of Wild and why new opera is both exhilarating and high risk, with creative teams building the work in real time and fewer safety nets when something goes sideways. From beloved standard repertoire to personal bucket-list titles, Ian gives a candid look at how taste, feasibility and community impact collide in season planning.

Finally, we tackle the big question: what makes the Canadian Opera Company a national opera company, and what responsibility comes with that label across Canada’s opera ecosystem.

All episodes of The Opera Glasses podcast are hosted by the editor of Opera Canada, currently Michael Jones after Elizabeth Bowman hosted seasons 1 and 2. Follow Opera Canada on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Visit OperaCanada.ca for all of your Canadian Opera news and reviews.

She walked into an asylum on purpose and the world couldn’t ignore what she found. We’re joined by award-winning Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch to talk about 10 Days in a Madhouse, her opera with composer Rene Orth, and the real investigative journalism of Nellie Bly, who pretended to be “mad” to expose the brutal conditions inside a women’s institution in 19th-century New York.

We start with Hannah’s route from actor training at the National Theatre School to a life built around making new work, then follow her jump into opera through Tapestry Opera’s LIBLAB. She explains why opera voices feel physical in the room to her and how contemporary opera lets a writer lean into poetry, stylization and emotional intensity. If you’re curious about how a libretto is written, how composers and librettists collaborate, or why music can deliver meaning faster than words, her craft talk is full of usable insight.

From there, we dig into the story engine of 10 Days in a Madhouse: what Bly discovered and how the system swept up women for reasons that had nothing to do with mental health. Hannah also shares a sharp opera-writing principle she lives by, the creative power of a women’s chorus, and what it takes to make a bold structure like reverse chronology land with an audience.

If this conversation sparks something for you, subscribe to Opera Glasses, share the episode with an opera-curious friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s a real-life story you think deserves the opera treatment?

All episodes of The Opera Glasses podcast are hosted by the editor of Opera Canada, currently Michael Jones after Elizabeth Bowman hosted seasons 1 and 2. Follow Opera Canada on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Visit OperaCanada.ca for all of your Canadian Opera news and reviews.

A premiere disappears three months before opening night, and the artists are told after the decision is already made. That’s the moment that frames our conversation with mezzo-soprano and broadcaster Marion Newman, a singer we’ve long admired for her voice, her wit and her steady insistence on truth.

We talk about Indians On Vacation, the new Canadian opera adapted from Thomas King’s novel, and why Marion was drawn to Mimi: an Indigenous, middle-aged woman who stays alive, loves hard, laughs often and refuses to let anxiety impact her travel. Marion walks us through Mimi and Bird’s relationship and the rare power of a story that centers Indigenous joy, curiosity and normal life without pretending history isn’t there.

From there, we zoom out to the the development of the operatic Indians on Vacation: pandemic-era workshops, the thrill of a Banff sing-through with orchestra, and then the gut punch of cancellation after years of work involving roughly two dozen Indigenous artists. Marion speaks plainly about what it feels like when stories are shaped inside institutions where final authority still often sits outside the community being represented, and why meaningful consultation can’t be an afterthought.

We close with what comes next: Stories Don’t Die: The Artists of Indians on Vacation, a May 9 event in Toronto presented by Against the Grain Theatre featuring selections from the score and a live conversation with the audience.

All episodes of The Opera Glasses podcast are hosted by the editor of Opera Canada, currently Michael Jones after Elizabeth Bowman hosted seasons 1 and 2. Follow Opera Canada on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Visit OperaCanada.ca for all of your Canadian Opera news and reviews.