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8 New Episodes!

Are you a fan of opera, classic hits, puppets, and children’s shows? Then, wowza, do we have the digital series for you! We’ve teamed up with Gazelle Automations to share the story of junior officers, Iona the cockatiel and Lydian the vixen, as they explore the deep sea in Threepenny Submarine near the mysterious Salieri sector. After a scare, they accidentally come across a strange sea creature who sounds like a flute and their adventure begins.

You can also watch the whole series by clicking play on the link below: Trailer followed by complete season 1:

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Cast and Crew of Threepenny Submarine

Created by Rachel Krehm, Jessica Derventzis, and Evan Mitchell

Directed by Justin T. Lee

Story and Teleplay by Rachel Krehm and Lindsay Lee

Story Editor: Lindsay Lee

Directors of Photography: Justin T. Lee and Jeffrey Mackey

Script Supervisor: Graeme Gerussi

Production Design by Justin T. Lee

Puppets Designed and Built by Benjamin Craig, Lindsay Lee, and Robin Polfuss

Costumes by Lindsay Lee

Sets and Props by Gazelle Automations

Threedollar Submarine built by Robbie Perchaluk

Music Recorded at Revolution Recording in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Sound Recording Engineers Stephen Kosler Luke Schindler

Assistant Sound Recording Engineers Christine Stoesser and Kohen Hammond

Recording Producers: Rafael Luz and Trevor Chartrand

Music Synchronization Producer: Rachel Krehm

ADR Recording and Editing by Evan Mitchell and Justin T. Lee

ADR Direction by Justin T. Lee, Lindsay Lee, and Jessica Derventzis

Post-Production by Gazelle Automations

Narration by Melody Schaal

Iona

Spoken Voice: Lindsay Lee

Sung Voice: Caitlin Wood

Puppetry: Lindsay Lee

Lydian

Spoken Voice: Rachel Krehm

Sung Voice: Rachel Krehm

Puppetry: Justin T. Lee

Captain Wilbur Longnose

Spoken Voice: Justin T. Lee

Sung Voice: Scott Rumble

Puppetry: Lindsay Lee and Justin T. Lee

Ralph

Spoken Voice: Justin T. Lee

Sung Voice: Clarence Frazer

Puppetry: Justin T. Lee and Lindsay Lee

Translation Machine

Spoken Voice: Rachel Krehm

Sung Voice: Adanya Dunn

Flute

Flute: Amelia Lyon

Puppetry: Lindsay Lee

Little Hero

Harp: Angela Schwarzkopf and Heidi Elise Bearcroft

Threepenny Submarine Theme Music by Ryan Trew

Featured Music by

Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Dvořák, R. Strauss, Donizetti, Verdi, Parish-Alvars, Korngold, Humperdinck, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Grieg, Shostakovich, Farrenc, Schubert, Gounod, Bizet, Handel, Massenet, Dame Smyth, and Evan Mitchell

All new music by Cecilia Livingston and Ryan Trew

Music Arrangements by Trevor Wagler and Evan Mitchell

Music Lyrics by Rachel Krehm

Music Director: Evan Mitchell

Music Librarians: Evan Mitchell and Rachel Krehm

Music Editor: Evan Mitchell

Musicians

Allene Chomyn, violin

Yolanda Bruno, violin

Lyssa Pelton, violin

Eri Hattori Kosaka, violin

Jody Davenport, viola

Theresa Rudolph, viola

Rebecca Morton, cello

Roberta Janzen, cello

Amelia Lyon, flute

Kelly Zimba Lukić, flute

Tristan Durie, flute

Heidi Elise Bearcroft, harp

Angela Schwarzkopf, harp

Charlene Chin, harp

Produced with the cooperation of the Canadian Federation of Musicians

Produced with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts

at Theatre Passe Muraille June 12-15, 2024

Tickets on sale at Theatre Passe Muraille Box Office January 2024

We are so excited to return to live performance for the first time since 2018!! We’re bringing an exceptional team of Canadian artists together to dig into Britten’s creepy psychological thriller. The concept will have a signature Opera 5 twist, with a fresh take on this spooky Britten classic. More to come later on that! Performances are June 12-15, 2024 at Theatre Passe Muraille – you definitely won’t want to miss this one! The performance on June 13 will feature the cast of our Interns from Opera McGill. Check out more about the intern program here.

Cast and Creative Team

Director: Amanda Smith

Music Director: Evan Mitchell

Production Designer: Shannon Lea Doyle

Lighting Designer: Noah Feaver

Music Staff: Trevor Chartrand

Peter Quint: Asitha Tennekoon

Governess: Elizabeth Polese

Miles: Ryan McDonald

Flora: Thera Barclay

Miss Jessel: Rachel Krehm

Intern Cast to be announced soon!

This production is generously supported by the Ontario Arts Council.

Workshop Presentation November 19, 2023 at 2pm in Wirth Opera Studio, Montreal

Our brand new opera, Come Closer, will have a workshop and public presentation with the students of Opera McGill on November 19. This new Canadian opera by Ryan Trew (composer) and Rachel Krehm (librettist)  takes an emotional look at the grief of losing a sister, based on the personal experiences of Rachel Krehm, who lost her sister Elizabeth to addiction. The opera is a symbolic representation of the grieving process explored through a series of memories and fantasies.

Look out for more info about how you can watch the workshop in Montreal soon!

we’re partnering up with our friends at Opera McGill to create a brand new educational program to support portfolio (multi-faceted) artists! We’re excited to welcome six paid interns into our production of The Turn of the Screw. Each will cover a role, perform on June 13th, participate in various professional development workshops, and shadow a design, production, or administrative position on the show.

Stay tuned here for more announcements about the program and the interns.

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Musique 3 Femmes and Opera 5 presents the first-ever “OperaCon”, a digital pop-up connecting students, artists, and innovation in opera. Hosted by Opera McGill at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, this inaugural 3 day event features artist-led discussions from across the country, exploring technology and its role in the arts, emerging arts leadership/entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. OperaCon features the participation by Canadian Opera Company, the Association for Opera in Canada, Amplified Opera, re:Naissance Opera, Uncommon Music Festival, Loose Tea Music Theatre, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. The event is made possible with the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation. All sessions will be streamed on Youtube Live. Registered viewers will receive a link to the stream prior to the event. (Kindly note that there are closed sessions which are ONLY available to students of Opera McGill and Association for Opera in Canada Fellows.) To register to attend OperaCon, visit: https://operacon.eventbrite.com 

Opera 5 will be presenting Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in June 2020! Stay tuned for more details!

On Friday, November 8, 2019 Tongue in Cheek Productions will join forces with Opera 5 to present Eight Singers Drinking at Gallery 345. In this concert, singers will each sing a set of songs inspired by a cocktail. These drinks will be freshly prepared by the skilled mixologists of Opera 5 and Tongue in Cheek Productions, and each of the “drinking singers” will be required to finish their drinks by the end of their sets. The audience will have the opportunity to enjoy their choice of the presented cocktail(s) before curtain, during the intermission, and after the show. The concert will feature an eclectic mix of music from different cultures and by various composers including Montsalvatge, Porter, Handel, Berlioz, Vaughan Williams, Viardot, and more to be performed by some of Toronto’s favourite interpreters of classical vocal music. The program consists of eight singers and one pianist, including Opera 5’s founding member and general director, soprano Rachel Krehm. She will be joined by mezzo-soprano Catherine Daniel, soprano Sonya Harper Nyby, tenors Ryan Downey and River Guard, and members of the Tongue in Cheek team: baritones Michael Nyby and Aaron Durand and mezzo-soprano Beste Kalender. All will be led by one-man-orchestra Trevor Chartrand at the piano.

Tickets are $35 general admission, $25 for arts workers. Tickets and more information are available at www.tongueincheekproductions.com.

We could not be more excited to announce a partnership with Musique Trois Femmes in connection with their prize for female identifying composers and librettists to create new Canadian operas. Musique 3 Femmes and Ensemble Vocal arts-Québec is pleased to announce the Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes 2020, a national award totalling $25,000 supporting new opera creations by teams of Canadian emerging female-identifying composers and librettists. Winning teams will be mentored in their process by established opera composer Luna Pearl Woolf, participate in a workshop of their creations by Musique 3 Femmes and see productions in Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto, in collaboration with our presenting and workshop partners Opera McGill, La Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), Queen’s University DAN School of Music and Drama, and Toronto’s Opera 5. As part of Opera 5’s Open Chambers production in Toronto, Musique 3 Femmes and Opera 5 will pursue additional funding for the expansion and the orchestration of the three winning works for chamber ensemble and produce all the winning operas in one show together. The production will happen in Toronto in late 2021. Artistic Director of Opera 5 Jessica Derventzis will be one of the jury members for the prize. We are so thrilled to be involved in this prize that is making opportunities for these female identifying artists! 

For information on the prize please see www.musique3femmes.com

Open Chambers: Hindemith & Shostakovich

Opera 5 presents an hour long show of staged chamber music in the intimate Studio Theatre at Factory Theatre. Get an up-close experience of this dramatic and stunning music.

Factory Theatre – Studio Theatre – 125 Bathurst St

November 28 7:30pm – November 30 7:30pm – December 1 9:00pm

Ticket Prices (fees included for online purchases):

$45 – Front Row Seating (only nine available per performance)

$30 – General Admission

$25 – Arts Worker

 $23 – Student

Cast and Creative Team

 

With the support of

Opera 5 has received its first Dora Nomination ever for Opera Division: Outstanding Performance – Ensemble. This is for the entire cast of Suffragette.

We couldn’t be prouder of the cast of Suffragette: Alexandra Smither, Elizabeth Polese, Eugenia Dermentzis, Asitha Tennekoon, Kevin Myers, Jonathan MacArthur, Jeremy Ludwig, Alan MacDonald and Jean Philippe-McClish on their nomination as the ensemble of Suffragette.

Thank you to everyone involved who helped the cast shine and thank you to our fabulous cast for giving all they had to this unique offering of Ethel Smyth’s operas.

Congratulations as well to our colleagues in Indie Opera T.O at Tapestry Opera, Against the Grain Theatre for their nominations. 31 out of the 42 opera nominations this year are going to independent opera companies, which are thriving in Toronto.

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards, named for Dora Mavor Moore and presented by TAPA, were founded on December 13, 1978 by a committee who decided to institute an award to recognize outstanding achievements in Toronto theatre.

See the complete list of nominees here.