Opera Atelier is opening its new season with one of mythology’s oldest stories, but it won’t look quite like the company audiences may expect.
From October 22 to 25, Opera Atelier presents Canada’s first fully staged production of M.A. Charpentier’s The Descent of Orpheus at Koerner Hall, launching its 2026/27 Season of Heroes with a production designed to feel both historically grounded and distinctly contemporary.
That tension is part of the appeal.
Co-Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski says the production will remain rooted in period performance while embracing a more modern aesthetic, reflecting Charpentier’s ability to combine formal 17th-century French music with deeply human emotion.
The opera retells the familiar story of Orpheus and Eurydice, following Orpheus into the underworld as he attempts to bring his beloved back from the dead. Charpentier’s version is especially significant as the first known French operatic treatment of the myth, and its detailed performance instructions suggest it was conceived as something experimental even in its own time.
That makes it a natural fit for a company now looking to stretch its visual language.
The cast includes American tenor Daniel McGrew in his Opera Atelier debut as Orpheus, alongside French-Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin as Eurydice. French baritone David Witczak returns as Pluto, with Olivier Bergeron as Apollo and Mireille Lebel as Persephone.
Dance is also central to the production. The full Artists of Atelier Ballet will appear throughout, reflecting the importance of movement in French courtly drama and the theatrical traditions that emerged from Louis XIV’s dance academy.
Musically, the production brings together some of Opera Atelier’s closest collaborators. Dr. Christopher Bagan conducts an ensemble of soloists from Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, while members of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir form the off-stage chorus.
The evening will also include a special prologue from Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, who performs Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Orpheus with his Lute” as a contemporary framing device for the myth.
Visually, Koerner Hall itself will be transformed once again by longtime Opera Atelier designer Gerard Gauci, with lighting by Kimberly Purtell and costumes by Michael Gianfrancesco.
For audiences who already know Opera Atelier, this production offers a glimpse of where the company may be heading next. For newcomers, it offers something equally compelling: a centuries-old story of love, loss, music and defiance, told with ballet, baroque music and a fresh theatrical lens.
Opera Atelier presents The Descent of Orpheus
October 22-24 at 7:30 p.m.
October 25 at 2:30 p.m.
Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W.
Tickets range from $85 to $270, including taxes and fees.
👉 Tickets and information: https://www.operaatelier.com
Cover photo: Daniel McGrew by Zinger
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