Skip to content

Story

OUR MISSION

OOTA is committed to embracing innovation and developing opera for the 21st century by

  • Delivering outstanding productions of new repertoire that engage our public and propel our genre forward;
  • Identifying extraordinary artists from equity-deserving communities, both established and emerging and providing opportunities for them to create their most imaginative and inspired work;
  • We are presenting innovative programming relevant to the multicultural country of Canada that broadens and diversifies the opera audience.

OUR VISION

Opera on the Avalon envisions a community that reflects diverse art-making, where communities most often have been excluded and feel welcome and empowered to participate.

OUR VALUES

We believe in the power of the arts. We believe that art is fundamental to flourishing, inclusive societies. We are committed to knowledge sharing and creation globally, highlighting voices and stories that are often unheard.

OOTA

Who Knit You?

Our Team

Cheryl Hickman

General & Artistic Director

Judith Yan

Music Director & Resident Conductor

KEITH ROBERTS

RESIDENT COSTUME DESIGNER

Deborah Jarrell

Executive Assistant & Project Coordinator

Christopher Payne

Marketing & Communications Specialist

A fine kettle o'Fish

Board of directors

Kevin Woodbury

Chair

Anna Cook

Vice-Chair

Maria French

Halina Avery

Dr. Doug Angel

Judy Dobbin

Matthew Flynn

Cheryl Hickman

General & Artistic Director

Dr. Delores Mullings

Karina Byrne

Jenny Smith

John Thompson

Geoff Wedgwood

Melanie Jardine

Opera on the Avalon is a proud member of The Association of Opera in Canada and Opera America, and works under the auspices of the Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA); The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA); and The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE). Opera on the Avalon is also a proud member of the Theatre Green Book.

Land Acknowledgement


We respectfully acknowledge the land we gather on as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk [bee-oth-uck], whose culture has been lost forever and can never be recovered. We also acknowledge the island of Ktaqmkuk [uk-dah-hum-gook] (Newfoundland) as the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq [mee-gum-maq]. And we recognize Labrador as the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Innu [in-new] of Nitassinan [ne-tass-eh-nen], the Inuit [in-new-eet] of Nunatsiavut [nu-nat-see-ah-vut], and the Inuit of NunatuKavut [nu-nah-tuhk-ahvut]. We recognize all First Peoples who came before us, those who live with us now, and the seven generations to come. As First Peoples have done since time immemorial, we strive to be responsible stewards of the land and to respect the cultures, ceremonies, and traditions of all who call it home. We commit to working in the true spirit of truth and reconciliation.

OOTA