March 2023
Announcing the world premiere of The Nightingale of a Thousand Songs
The Canadian Children’s Opera Company proudly announces the return of its annual main stage production with our latest commission, The Nightingale of a Thousand Songs, based on a beloved Armenian folk tale, by Juno award-winning composer Serouj Kradjian and Dora award-winning playwright and librettist Marjorie Chan. The latest new opera in the CCOC’s long history of new commissioned works, The Nightingale of a Thousand Songs follows the journey of two siblings, Leah and Ari, as they emerge from a tragedy in their homeland. Stage Director Julie McIsaac.
For details and ticketing information click here.
March 2022
World premiere of Fantasma at the Canadian Opera Company
A boisterous, old-fashioned carnival takes a creepy turn when two best friends stumble upon a dark secret. Stage Director and Dramaturg Julie McIsaac helms this new COC commission by Ian Cusson and Colleen Murphy, March 9-12, 2022.
“Cusson’s score is lively and imaginative, and director Julie McIsaac captures scenes like a fun carnival ride and the lilting, waltz-like ensemble number with dramatic clarity. Camellia Koo’s big top-inspired set and Mikael Kangas’s lighting also add much to the atmosphere. Music director Frances Thielmann, who also plays the piano, and McIsaac get spirited performances from all the singers.” ~Glenn Sumi, Now Toronto (read the full review here).
“Director and Dramaturg Julie McIsaac mounted a fast-paced show that unfolded fluidly through the succession of short scenes. The piece packs a lot of content into its 45-minute span, summoning adult and child perspectives on some big-idea dualities—life and death, reality and unreality, truth and fiction, comedy and tragedy. There’s a lot of humour . . . some amusingly hip references to technology and social media, but the ending is more bitter than sweet. The stage adults may not believe in Marcel, but the audience likely accepts Léa and Ivy’s conviction that he was the victim of horrifying abuse. He’s another of our “missing children.” Lighting designer Mikael Kangas effectively built the contrast between the outdoor scenes and the spooky interior of the Haunted House, and McIsaac made good use of mime to show the teens on carnival rides.” ~Wayne Gooding, Opera Canada (read the full review here).
“A haunting opera geared to introducing young audiences to opera using their language, their concerns and technology that poses soul-searching questions. Director Julie McIsaac builds the tension nicely when the two teenaged girls must decide to help Marcel the real ghost or obey Léa’s mother and follow her home. Both teens promised Marcel they would help. Julie McIsaac establishes that confliction of the pull of the conscience and the command of the mother.” ~Lynn Slotkin, The Slotkin Letter (read the full review here).
More information available at coc.ca/Fantasma
January 2022
Premiere of Voices of Mountains at the Canadian Opera Company
An artist-led convergence of music, movement, and the natural world.
Fusing classical and contemporary opera repertoire with dance, Voices of Mountains features the world premiere of composer Ian Cusson’s “Fire.” Mezzo-sopranos Rebecca Cuddy and Marion Newman perform with pianist Gordon Gerrard from the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, while choreography from Aria Evans is set against some of Toronto’s most stunning backdrops. Dramaturg Julie McIsaac.
The Canadian Opera Company launches new Land Acknowledgement Commissioning Program
Learn about the creation of where the water meets the land, an immersive artwork by inaugural participants in the COC’s new Land Acknowledgement Commissioning Program, Métis multi-disciplinary artist Rebecca Cuddy and Canadian stage director Julie McIsaac.
Visit http://www.coc.ca/landacknowledgement for more information.
October 2020 – June 2021
The Canadian Opera Company launches Key Change: A COC Podcast, offering a fresh take on today’s opera issues
Co-hosted by classical singer and culture critic Robyn Grant-Moran alongside stage director, dramaturg and COC Academy graduate Julie McIsaac, the first season of bi-weekly episodes explores the opera-going experience from a variety of perspectives, with special guests from the opera field and beyond. Listen here.
December 2019
Julie McIsaac named COC’s first Director/Dramaturg-in-Residence
Residency to include work on the Canadian Opera Company’s newly commissioned Opera for Young Audiences. Read the full article here.
Photo of Julie McIsaac by Taylor Long. Julie McIsaac’s Director/Dramaturg residency with the Canadian Opera Company is made possible through funding from the Government of British Columbia and British Columbia Arts Council.
November 2019
Poly Queer Love Ballad premieres in Toronto at Theatre Passe Muraille
“under director Julie McIsaac, this simple and human story proves that a show can be successful regardless of where it’s staged so long as it has something at its core . . . a metaphorical beating heart behind everything said and done onstage.” ~Isabella Perrone, BroadwayWorld Toronto (read the full review here).
October 2019
Onstage at the Firehall Arts Centre Oct 30 – Nov 3, as part of the 16th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival: SIS NE’ BI-YÏZ: MOTHER BEAR SPEAKS (workshop production). Created and performed by Taninli Wright | directed by Julie McIsaac | developed in collaboration with Laura Barron, Jason Clift, Julie McIsaac and Jessica Schacht | produced by Instruments of Change.
Inspired by the true story of this Wet’suwet’en artist, who walked 1,600 km across British Columbia to give voice to First Nations children and other marginalized youth. (Photo of Taninli Wright by Geoff Webb).
Read the preview article “Solos soar on Indigenous oral traditions at Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival” in The Georgia Straight.
Tickets and info available here.
September 2019
Album release September 21, 2019! The Music from LES FILLES DU ROI: A new musical by Corey Payette & Julie McIsaac.
Now available on iTunes and other online stores.
Beauty’s Beast
“positively breathtaking… simultaneously spacious and intimate… innovative, risk-taking.”
Collaborating with composer Allison Cociani, librettist Anna Shill, and collaborative pianist Perri Lo, Julie helms the world premiere of the new chamber opera Beauty’s Beast at the Orpheum Annex in Vancouver, Sept 6-7. Produced by a rising force in the west coast indie scene, East Van Opera, “at the leading edge of contemporary opera in Vancouver.” ~Schmopera (read the full review here)
“evocative and appealing . . . Julie McIsaac’s stage direction had the virtue of being swift-moving, direct, and unfussy, eschewing unnecessary action and exaggerated gestures.” ~Vancouver Classical Music (read the full review here)
July 2019
At the 37th annual Jessie Awards in Vancouver on July 15, Les Filles du Roi, a new musical that the Georgia Straight called “a triumph”, won 4 Jessie awards for direction, set design, sound design/original composition, and costume design. Created by Julie McIsaac and Corey Payette, Les Filles du Roi is performed in French, English and Kanien’kéha (Mohawk), and was developed with the Native North American Traveling College in Akwesasne. The production premiered at the York Theatre in Vancouver in May 2018, a coproduction by Fugue Theatre, Raven Theatre, Urban Ink, and the Cultch. Poly Queer Love Ballad (directed by Julie McIsaac) was also nominated for Outstanding New Script (Anais West & Sara Vickruck) and for Outstanding Production – Musical, in the Small Theatre category.
Silent Light
“a tremendously successful Banff-styled project . . . Silent Light must be seen and heard elsewhere.”
High praise in the Calgary Herald for Julie’s newest project, working alongside stage director & designer Thaddeus Strassberger, composer Paola Prestini and librettist Royce Vavrek on a workshop production of their new chamber opera Silent Light, conducted by Christopher Rountree, based on the film Stellet Licht by Carlos Reygadas. At the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity July 4-6, as part of the Opera in the 21st Century program, curated by Joel Ivany. Read the full review here. Watch the Silent Light trailer.
June 2019
LES FILLES DU ROI leads Jessie Award Nominations – Nominees for the 37th annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards were announced at the BMO Theatre Centre in Vancouver on Monday, June 3. Leading with 9 nominations (including Outstanding Production – Musical) was Les Filles du Roi (co-created by Corey Payette & Julie McIsaac) with Poly Queer Love Ballad (directed by Julie McIsaac) also nominated for Outstanding Production – Musical, in the Small Theatre category. Read the full announcement in the Globe and Mail or click here to view the full list of nominees. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Vancouver on July 15.
April 2019
Julie’s back in the studio in Vancouver in director-dramaturg mode, supporting the development of three new Canadian works: Sis Ne’ Bi -Yïz: Mother Bear Speaks by Wet’suwet’en playwright-performer Taninli Wright, a one-woman show based on the true story of Taninli’s 1,600 km “Messenger of Hope” walk across British Columbia; the sci-fi space opera Dauntless by Peter Boychuk & Steven Greenfield; and the new chamber opera Beauty’s Beast by East Van Opera’s Allison Cociani, with libretto by Anna Shill, which will premiere at the Orpheum ANNEX in Vancouver in September 2019:
Interested in learning about our work? Join Julie and the cast & creative team of Beauty’s Beast on Sunday, April 28 from 3:30-5:00pm for a glimpse of the workshop process, at the Canadian Music Centre, 837 Davie St, Vancouver. As seating is limited, please register to attend by emailing eastvanopera@gmail.com
March 2019
WINNER OF THE CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD, PTC FRINGE NEW PLAY PRIZE, VOLUNTEER CHOICE AWARD and 2018 PICK OF THE FRINGE
Poly Queer Love Ballad
By Anais West and Sara Vickruck | Directed by Julie McIsaac
At Queer Arts Festival’s SUM Gallery Mar 5-10 (Vancouver) and the SkirtsAfire Festival Mar 13-17 (Edmonton)
An intimate, edgy new musical, merging slam poetry with catchy pop-folk tunes. Nina, a polyamorous bisexual poet, meets Gabbie, a monogamous lesbian songwriter, at Cafe Deux Soleil. With two microphones, a loop pedal, and array of instruments, they struggle to reconcile their fierce mutual attraction with their opposing perspectives on love.
“Under Julie McIsaac’s direction, West is the grounded anchor to Vickruck’s frisky puppy; both are thoroughly charming. Go see this and make it the hit it deserves to be.” ~Kathleen Oliver, The Georgia Straight (read the full review here)
“this show feels like it’s making up its own rules as it goes along—and that’s a beautiful thing . . . the tenderness and rapture of this story made me weep big, nostalgic tears.” ~Colin Thomas, colinthomas.ca (read the full review here)
“fun, wistful, and genuinely experimental.” ~Liz Nicholls, 12thNight.ca (read the full review here)
“Under Julie McIsaac’s expert direction, the two women weave in and out, and seamlessly blend their poetry and music to create something new, unique and exciting . . . re-defining what is possible within the genre.” ~Lillian Jasper, Two Cents & Two Pence (read the full review here)
“McIsaac strikes a fine balance between the electric and intimate moments of connection between Nina and Gabby, and an invitation to let the audience in on the ride . . . a beautiful tribute to the complexities of love and relationships.” ~Katie Gartlan-Close, Vancouver Presents (read the full review here)
January-March 2019
Children of God at the Segal Centre (Montreal), The Cultch (Vancouver) and BC Tour
Created & Directed by Corey Payette | Associate Director Julie McIsaac
This year marks Julie’s fourth season with the groundbreaking musical Children of God, the story of an Oji-Cree family whose children are taken away to a residential school in Northern Ontario. A haunting story of redemption for a mother who was never let past the school’s gate, and for her kids, who never knew she came; Children of God offers a thrilling blend of ancient traditions and contemporary realities, celebrating resilience and the power of the Indigenous cultural spirit.
For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
December 2018
Amis francophones et francophiles! On jase théâtre, littérature et des merveilleuses marionnettes aquatiques… Little Women et Sedna. Radio-Canada Phare Ouest – Audio fil du lundi 3 décembre (écoutez)
Sedna at the Caravan Farm Theatre
Created by Reneltta Arluk, Marshall McMahen & Corey Payette; Music by Corey Payette; Directed by Corey Payette | Music Director Julie McIsaac
Reuniting with Urban Ink and frequent collaborators Marshall McMahen and Corey Payette, Julie returns to the Caravan Farm Theatre as Music Director of Sedna, a spectacular retelling of the Inuit story of the Goddess of the Arctic, told with music, mask, and magnificent large-scale puppets.
The world’s only horse-drawn winter sleigh ride theatre experience, Dec 11 – 31, 2018.
Little Women at the Chemainus Theatre Festival
Directed by Julie McIsaac | From the novel by Louisa M. Alcott; Book & Lyrics by Mark DuMez; Music & Lyrics by Jim Hodgkinson
Having originated the role of Meg in the Chemainus premiere of Little Women in 2005, Julie returns to direct this beloved family musical, asking herself what our responsibility is, in telling Jo’s story here and now, 150 years after the publication of Alcott’s novel. Onstage at the Chemainus Theatre Festival November 16 – December 30, 2018.
September 2018
WINNER OF THE PTC FRINGE NEW PLAY PRIZE, GEORGIA STRAIGHT CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD, VOLUNTEER CHOICE AWARD and PICK OF THE FRINGE
Poly Queer Love Ballad at the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival
By Anais West and Sara Vickruck | Directed by Julie McIsaac
September 7th – 16th, 2018 | The Revue Stage
September 22nd, 2018 | Performance Works
An intimate, edgy new musical, merging slam poetry with catchy pop-folk tunes. Nina, a polyamorous bisexual poet, meets Gabbie, a monogamous lesbian songwriter, at Cafe Deux Soleil. With two microphones, a loop pedal, and array of instruments, they struggle to reconcile their fierce mutual attraction with their opposing perspectives on love.
“Under Julie McIsaac’s direction, West is the grounded anchor to Vickruck’s frisky puppy; both are thoroughly charming. Go see this and make it the hit it deserves to be.” ~Kathleen Oliver, The Georgia Straight (read the full review here)
“this show feels like it’s making up its own rules as it goes along—and that’s a beautiful thing . . . the tenderness and rapture of this story made me weep big, nostalgic tears.” ~Colin Thomas, colinthomas.ca (read the full review here)
“Under Julie McIsaac’s expert direction, the two women weave in and out, and seamlessly blend their poetry and music to create something new, unique and exciting . . . re-defining what is possible within the genre.” ~Lillian Jasper, Two Cents & Two Pence (read the full review here)
Can’t get enough Poly Queer love? Come see us again:
VANCOUVER: March 5-10, 2019. Queer Arts Festival presents Poly Queer Love Ballad at the SUM Gallery. Co-produced by the frank Theatre Company, co-presented by Zee Zee Theatre
EDMONTON: March 13-17, 2019. SkirtsAfire Festival
Julie McIsaac 