A trio of big Italian favourites as Vancouver Opera unveils its 2026-27 season

Three B.C.-connected directors bring distinct visions to Tosca, The Barber of Seville, and La Traviata

(From left) Directors Brenna Corner, Morris Panych, and Idan Cohen

CUE THE BIG ARIAS: Vancouver Opera has just unveiled a program of Italian warhorses for its 2026-27 season—each with a unique take by a B.C.-connected director.

Calling the program “audience-inspired”, the company has announced a trio of iconic works by Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, and Giuseppe Verdi. Season tickets are on sale now at the VO website.

The roster kicks off October 24 and 29, and November 1 with a grand-scale Tosca. Renowned Lebanese-Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury stars in the fiery title role opposite tenor David Pomeroy and baritone Gregory Dahl. Vancouver Opera music director Jacques Lacombe takes the baton, while Brenna Corner, artistic director of Pacific Opera Victoria, directs.

That’s followed by Rossini’s famous comedy The Barber of Seville February 13, 18, 20, and 21, 2027—with innovative theatre team Morris Panych and Ken MacDonald at the helm, directing and designing respectively, and Leslie Dala conducting. (Panych and MacDonald, who were veterans of the Vancouver theatre scene before moving east, conceived the staging of the surreal hit Flight at the VO last June.) Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny makes her Vancouver Opera debut as Rosina, with baritone Clarence Frazer starring as Figaro and tenor John Tessier as Count Almaviva.

The season closes with Verdi’s timeless tragedy La Traviata on April 24 and 29, and May 1 and 2, 2027. With Lacombe on the podium and Vancouver-based Idan Cohen of Ne.Sans Opera & Dance directing, the new coproduction with Pacific Opera Victoria promises a striking contemporary visual take, with plenty of references to Pop Art, Hitchcock thrillers, and mass media. Soprano Andriana Chuchman stars as Violetta.

Single tickets for Tosca, The Barber of Seville, and La Traviata go on sale June 29.

In other news, the company has also announced its free, family-friendly Opera in the Park will return on July 19 at 7:30 pm at Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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