Now in our 51st season, Calgary Opera has become known nationally and internationally for its commitment to the development of Canadian talent and the creation of new operas.
Calgary Opera serves our entire community with innovative and inspiring operas in a multitude of forms and venues, and through educational activities and the training of young Canadian artists, while developing our people and managing our operations in a fiscally sound and efficient manner.
Calgary Opera aspires to be a leader in the opera field, known for its intensive collaboration with arts organizations of all sizes, a thoughtful balance of traditional classics and more alternative works, and a mix of larger-scale and smaller artistic projects. The company will rely on a network of diverse sources to recruit artistic and operational talent, with a strong commitment to develop and showcase top Canadian talent.
In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations, the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation within Alberta Districts 5 and 6, and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.
One of North America’s most innovative arts leaders, Sue Elliott has revolutionized the cultural service that performing and visual arts organizations provide. Through locally-relevant and internationally-renowned work that increases revenue and builds public value, hundreds of thousands of people have engaged in traditional and non-traditional performances and programs. Sue comes to Calgary Opera from Norman Rockwell Museum, where she transformed the ways in which the Museum connects with and engages its audiences, online and in person, as its first-ever Chief Audience Officer. Prior to joining NRM, Sue was inaugural Director of the Boston Symphony's Tanglewood Learning Institute and the Linde Center for Music and Learning. Through in-person and online programming, TLI refreshed the BSO’s relationship with loyal audiences while diversifying programming to engage new participants. Under her artistic direction, TLI featured Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Tom Stoppard, Madeleine K. Albright, Tony Kushner, Joy Harjo, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bill T. Jones, and hundreds of other artists and scholars. She also developed collaborations with organizations including Martha Graham Dance Company, the Lobkowicz Collections, Jacob's Pillow, and Berkshire International Film Festival. Sue led the world’s first online professional development, certificate, and accreditation program for private teachers at all stages of their careers at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Through this community of practice, thousands of teachers from around the world now call the Conservatory their partner in lifelong learning. At Seattle Opera, Sue redesigned the company’s programs, tripled annual events and participants, increased revenues, and established the case for their new headquarters. She commissioned its first community-inspired new work, An American Dream, and the Our Earth trilogy for schools and families. Sue also produced the company’s most profitable Ring Cycle Festival. A popular music lecturer at home and abroad, she co-hosted Saturday Night Opera on Classical King FM and served on the advisory boards of ArtsEd Washington, University of Washington School of Music, King FM, Seattle Science Festival, and OPERA America. Prior to her tenure in the Pacific Northwest, Sue spent 10 years at Houston Grand Opera. There, she created the award-winning Song of Houston initiative, pairing commissions from Christopher Theofanidis, Huang Ruo, Jake Heggie, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and Jose “Pepe” Martínez with groundbreaking education and community projects. Through its 20+ new works—including The Refuge; Now & Then: the blues; the East + West chamber opera series; and the world’s first mariachi opera—Song of Houston has engaged more than 100 organizations and 500,000 people. Sue started at HGO as a stage manager, having served in that capacity at the Canadian Opera Company, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. She was the first Canadian recipient of an OPERA America fellowship in Production and Stage Management. An accomplished clarinetist and pianist, Sue holds a Master of Music Performance degree from the University of Southern California, an Artist Diploma from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from McGill University, alongside certificates from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Social Impact Strategy.
Jonathan Brandani is an Italian born conductor, appreciated for his "fine regard for the score's details . his clear, purposeful indications" and "his enthusiasm" (Seen and Heard International). Recent engagements include L'elisir d'amore and Don Pasquale at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf, Germany), Haydn's Il mondo della luna at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (Valencia, Spain) and Mayr's Medea in Corinto at the first edition of Teatro Nuovo 2018 (New York). In 2018 he made his debut at the Wexford Festival Opera (Ireland) conducting Mercadante's Il Bravo (whose score he had previously restored and co-edited). His interpretation of this hidden Bel Canto gem was awarded as Best Opera Production by the Irish Times; the production is now available on demand on ARTE. Since 2014, Jonathan has worked as the Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Opera, where he has conducted Tosca, La Bohème, Don Pasquale and Il Cappello di straw di Firenze. He is a regular guest of Daegu Opera House (South Korea), where he has conducted Aida, Il Trittico, Madama Butterfly and L'Elisir d'amore. His performances of Puccini's Il Trittico at the 15th Daegu International Opera Festival were hailed with such enthusiasm that they earned him the Grand Prix, the highest recognition bestowed on an artist by the festival. He has also been Associate Conductor of Des Moines Metro Opera, Assistant Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale University, and Music Director of the New Haven Chamber Orchestra. Since 2012 he is Music Director of LuccaOperaFestival (Italy), where he has been conducting new productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte, The Barber of Seville, Don Pasquale, and L'Elisir d'amore. He also worked as Assistant Conductor of Festival Oper Klosterneuburg (Austria). A passionate interpreter of Early Music, Jonathan has been playing harpsichord and organ continuo with several renowned European ensembles like Concerto Köln, I Barocchisti and Coro della Radiotelevisione Svizzera, ArteMusica, Oltremontano, and regularly performing at major international festivals. He has been recording for Deutsche Grammophon, VIRGIN Classics, ORF, Radio4 Netherlands / AVRO, RSI, Bongiovanni. Jonathan is also founder, conductor, and artistic director of the period instrument orchestra L'Eloquenza. He received the bursary Theodor Körner Fonds 2010 of the Austrian Republic for his research in the field of baroque and classical music of composers from Tuscany. He graduated in Orchestra Conducting with full marks and honours from the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and holds a Master of Music in Orchestra Conducting from Yale University. After graduating in Piano, Jonathan studied Composition, Harpsichord and Historically Informed Performance Practice at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, and Musicology at the University of Pavia (Italy). Mr. Brandani is also a laureate of the Merola Opera Program of San Francisco Opera.
