Johannes Debus has been Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company (COC) since 2009, having been appointed immediately following his debut. Outside of Toronto, Debus conducts regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper unter den Linden, Oper Frankfurt, and the Santa Fe Opera.

Debus graduated from the Hamburg Conservatoire before being engaged as répétiteur and, subsequently, Kapellmeister by Oper Frankfurt where he acquired an extensive repertoire from Mozart to Thomas Adès. As an advocate for contemporary music, he has collaborated with internationally acclaimed ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, and Ensemble Musikfabrik. He enjoys an ongoing relationship with the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Canadian soprano Sarah Dufresne has been recognized for her “spellbinding… extraordinary vocal agility” and “superbly honed dramatic” performances (Bachtrack). She recently celebrated notable debuts at Teatro Alla Scala (Carmen), Tiroler Festspiele Erl (La sonnambula), and both Vancouver Opera and the Canadian Opera Company for Rigoletto. Upcoming, Dufresne debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and returns to Opéra de Montréal for her signature Gilda. Additional highlights include Blondchen in Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio (Ravinia Festival), and Sister Genovieffa in Suor Angelica with the London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano. This season, Sarah joins the ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper for repertoire including Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Clorinda in La cenerentola, and Frasquita in Carmen.

Hailed by Opera News for her “velvety mezzo,” Zoie Reams is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera’s Butler Studio. Highlights of the 2025–2026 season included two appearances with Lyric Opera of Chicago in Medea and the newly commissioned A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, a return to the Canadian Opera Company as Maddalena (Rigoletto), the title role of Carmen with Piedmont Opera, and the world premiere of Lalovavi with Cincinnati Opera. Ms. Reams joined the Metropolitan Opera roster to cover Charmian in John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra. Recent concert performances include Siegrune in Die Walküre (Los AngelesPhilharmonic), Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Boston Symphony Orchestra), Mahler’s 2ndSymphony (Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra), and Handel’s Messiah (Washington National Cathedral).

Equally at home on the concert and operatic stage, tenor Andrew Haji has appeared with many of North America’s leading orchestras and opera companies, including the Canadian Opera Company, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. With the Canadian Opera Company he has performed the title role in La clemenza di Tito, Tamino in Magic Flute, Alfredo in La traviata, and Cassio in Verdi’s Otello. Other appearances include Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth (Calgary Opera), Jonathan in Handel’s Saul (Edinburgh International Festival), Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (Taiwan’s National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts), and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (National Arts Centre). Mr. Haji is the recipient of the Grand Prix at the International Vocal Competition in the Netherlands and the Oratorio Award at the Montreal International Music Competition.

Grammy Award-winning baritone Elliot Madore’s operatic career has been anchored by a series of landmark roles, including the title role in Hamlet (Opéra de Montréal), Ramiro in L’heure espagnole (Glyndebourne Festival) and Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande (Bayerische Staatsoper;Cleveland Orchestra; Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb). His title role in Don Giovanni has been performed at Opera Philadelphia, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Cincinnati Opera. The 2026–2027 season marks Mr. Madore’s debut at the Canadian Opera Company in the world premiere of Empire of Wild by composer Ian Cusson and librettist Cherie Dimaline, an Indigenous-led work based on Dimaline’s bestselling novel and rooted in Métis storytelling traditions.

The COC Orchestra—the oldest opera orchestra in Canada—comprises more than 50 permanent instrumentalists and has received worldwide acclaim for its musical versatility and range of expression. Under German-born conductor Johannes Debus, who was appointed Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company in 2009, the orchestra continues to excel in a wide variety of repertoire, achieving “almost otherworldly perfection” (Globe and Mail).