Toronto’s opera season is kicking off with a genuine first. Opera Atelier opens its 2026/27 season, titled the Season of Heroes, with Canada’s first fully staged production of M.A. Charpentier’s The Descent of Orpheus, running October 22–25, 2026 at Koerner Hall in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning.
A 17th-Century Myth, Reimagined
The production is fully staged and choreographed by Opera Atelier’s founding Co-Artistic Directors, Marshall Pynkoski, C.M. and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, C.M., and while it stays rooted in period performance, the team is bringing a noticeably modern sensibility to it.
“While still grounded in the concept of period performance, Opera Atelier’s production of The Descent of Orpheus will reflect a more contemporary aesthetic,” says Pynkoski. “This has much to do with Charpentier’s unrivaled ability to blend soaring human emotion with the formality of 17th century French prose and music.”
The Descent of Orpheus is believed to be the first French operatic treatment of the Orpheus myth as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Charpentier wrote it at the request of Mademoiselle de Guise, one of his patrons and a dominant figure in the Parisian and Versailles music scene of the era — and the level of production detail he left behind makes clear it was considered a genuine experiment at the time, one now regarded as a masterpiece of dramatic writing.
The Cast
Daniel McGrew makes his Opera Atelier debut as Orpheus. Photos by Zinger Imagery
Opera Atelier has brought together a team of French specialists for the production. American tenor Daniel McGrew makes his Opera Atelier debut as Orpheus, introduced to the company by French-Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin, who takes on the role of Eurydice.
“I think Daniel is one of the most compelling and beautiful singers I’ve ever heard because the way he connects to text and musical line is incredibly genuine,” says Asselin. “To hear Daniel is to love Daniel, and I can’t wait for Toronto audiences to discover him.”
French baritone David Witczak returns to Opera Atelier as Pluto, and French-Canadian bass Olivier Bergeron makes his company debut as Apollo. They’re joined by Canadian mezzo soprano Mireille Lebel as Persephone, alongside an onstage ensemble integrated with the offstage Tafelmusik Chamber Choir.
Dance at the Centre of the Drama
As a French courtly drama, dance runs through nearly every scene, and Opera Atelier is bringing in the full Artists of Atelier Ballet to realize it.
“Charpentier’s music for the ballet provides opportunities to explore theatrical dancing in late-17th-century France to its fullest extent,” says Zingg. “Often paired with choral excerpts, this style of movement emerged fresh from the groundbreaking dance academy founded by Louis XIV in 1661 — where dancers were trained specifically for the professional theatre for the first time in French history.”
The Music and the Prologue
Opera Atelier’s Associate Music Director, Dr. Christopher Bagan, conducts from the harpsichord, leading an ensemble of soloists from the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Opening the evening is Opera Atelier Artist-in-Residence Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, performing Ralph Vaughan Williams’ art song “Orpheus with his Lute” as a prologue — a nod to the tradition of Monteverdi’s 1607 L’Orfeo, where the Goddess of Music sets the scene for the audience before the story begins.
“Monteverdi believed his audience of aristocrats steeped in classical mythology needed to be reminded of the history of Orpheus, and we believe the same,” says Pynkoski. “Measha’s recent success singing the role of the Sorceress in Opera Atelier’s production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for Ottawa Chamberfest and her recent recognition by the Canada Council for the Arts with the prestigious Molson Prize make her eminently suited to portray the Goddess of Music in this production.”
The Creative Team Behind the Stage
Designer Gerard Gauci continues his ongoing transformation of Koerner Hall into a distinct performance space, part of the Joan and Jerry Lozinski’s Opera Atelier Reimagined Project. Lighting designer Kimberly Purtell and costume designer Michael Gianfrancesco round out the creative team.
About Opera Atelier
Founded in 1985 by Pynkoski and Zingg, Opera Atelier is North America’s leading period opera and ballet company, known for productions that give equal weight to music, dance, acting, and design. The company performs in partnership with Tafelmusik, Canada’s award-winning baroque orchestra and chamber choir, and has toured to major opera houses and festivals internationally. Both Pynkoski and Zingg are members of the Order of Canada and were named Officiers dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic, with the ceremony held on the stage of the Royal Opera House/Versailles.
Show Details
- Dates: October 22–24, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.; October 25, 2026 at 2:30 p.m.
- Venue: Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor St W, Toronto
- Tickets: $85–$250, including taxes and fees
For tickets and more information, visit OperaAtelier.com.
Photos by Zinger Imagery
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