Tapestry Opera’s 2026-2027 season celebrates the breadth of Canadian artistry by embracing bold, forward-looking works that expand what opera can be.
Our 47th season features landmark productions that place leading Canadian artists centre stage. In celebration of his upcoming Metropolitan Opera debut, Canadian librettist Royce Vavrek’s dystopian rock opera Dog Days, with composer David T. Little, sees its Canadian premiere – as a powerful lens on survival and society, alongside Afarin Mansouri and Donna-Michelle St. Bernard’s Forbidden, a celebratory investigation into freedom brought to life with opera, rap, and Persian classical orchestration.
A major highlight is Raising the Baton, a benefit concert in support of Women in Musical Leadership, the first-ever showcase of Canada’s emerging female conducting talent, taking place at Koerner Hall.
Alongside these three signature events, Tapestry Opera continues to build its artistic community through its popular Songbook and New Opera 101 programs, featuring some of Toronto’s most compelling emerging artists, and the second season of its Free Underground Concerts at the Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre.
Tickets are available through our TAP Package subscription online through the Tapestry Opera box office or by calling 416-537-6606 ext. 108.
Single tickets go on sale on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
DOG DAYS (November 16–29, 2026)
Canadian Premiere directed by Michael Hidetoshi Mori, co-produced with Against the Grain Theatre
In a time of global instability, one family decides to stay put, despite an increasing scarcity of work and food. A haunting fusion of contemporary opera with electric guitar, this psychological pressure cooker asks who we are when times get desperate.
The New York Times-acclaimed work is a powerhouse collaboration between composer David T. Little and Pulitzer Prize-winning Canadian librettist Royce Vavrek, ahead of Vavrek’s upcoming Metropolitan Opera debut.
RAISING THE BATON (February 9, 2027)
A Benefit Concert for Women in Musical Leadership
Discover Canada’s most exciting up-and-coming conductors live on stage at Koerner Hall. This celebratory performance showcases the bright future of Canadian classical music, featuring exceptional talent from the Women in Musical Leadership (WML) program, including both distinguished alumnae and current conductors.
All funds raised through tickets and donations go to sustaining the Women in Musical Leadership program, a trailblazing national three-year fellowship providing emerging conductors with mentorship and professional work placements in opera companies and orchestras across Canada.
FORBIDDEN (May 13–16, 2027)
Classical Persian music, opera and hip-hop collide in Forbidden. A young girl is being told the “rules” of the world, and in questioning why certain things are forbidden – attracts the attention of Lucifer. She searches and discovers banned knowledge, prohibited activities, and different rules for girls and women… and begins to understand that not all rules are about ‘right and wrong’ and that not all power is benevolent.
Featuring a mesmerizing, genre-defying score by Iranian-born composer Afarin Mansouri and a razor-sharp libretto by Afro-Caribbean playwright and hip-hop artist Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, Forbidden brings the brilliant curiosity of the young and the sceptics view of our imperfect world together in a unique performance with opera and rap artists, and a chamber orchestra of Persian percussion, ney, and tar.
SONGBOOK XIII (June 4–5, 2027)
Discover Canada’s brightest emerging opera artists as they perform Canadian operas. Hear highlights from Tapestry’s 47-year collection of absurd, tragic, and beautiful Canadian repertoire in our intimate new home at the Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre.
FREE UNDERGROUND CONCERTS
(Various dates through 2026 & 2027)
Kicking off our second season of our Free Underground Concerts series offering a range of high-calibre musical performances, all completely free of charge on select Mondays throughout 2026 and 2027. Full details announced soon!
ABOUT TAPESTRY OPERA
Tapestry Opera is an award-winning Toronto-based company dedicated to creating, developing and performing original Canadian opera. In 2025, Tapestry co-founded the Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre, Toronto’s newest venue for the performing arts. Tapestry is passionate about uniquely Canadian stories, told in innovative settings, unforgettably interpreted by world-class artists. Tapestry supports emerging artists, develops new audiences and brings Canadian opera to the world stage. Founded in 1979, Tapestry is the voice of original contemporary Canadian opera.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Clay Jones
Marketing and Communications Manager
Tapestry Opera
cjones@tapestryopera.com