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    • Home
    • About Us
    • Previous Festivals
    • Beyond the Fest
      • Opera for Children Tour
      • Opera Around Town
      • The Mansplaining Division
    • Support
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Previous Festivals
  • Beyond the Fest
    • Opera for Children Tour
    • Opera Around Town
    • The Mansplaining Division
  • Support

A festival with an operatic voice

A festival with an operatic voiceA festival with an operatic voice

Who we are

Manitoba Underground Opera presents a festival each August that includes mainstage operas, concerts, and free outreach events. Opera was originally an artform that resonated with people from all walks of life, and our goal is to continue that tradition by making classical works relevant to the modern world. Whether we’re reimagining Don Giovanni as a #metoo era parable, examining the issue of social media bullying with Dido and Aeneas, or presenting an original operatic digital miniseries at the height of the pandemic, you always know that an MUO production will be like nothing you’ve seen before.

Beyond the Fest

We’re also active outside of our annual festival. MUO’s Opera for Children Tour brought live opera to over 1000 children and parents in Southern Manitoba in 2019, and we’re planning on expanding the tour to include Northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan once it again becomes safe to travel between remote communities. Our Opera Around Town initiative (OAT for short) brings pop-up opera performances to locations around Winnipeg throughout the year, with intimate concerts presented in local museums, businesses, and even farmers’ markets!

Past, Present, and Future

MUO began in 2008 as a group of students who simply wanted to share their love of opera, and today we’ve grown into an established fixture of Winnipeg’s arts scene. Thank you for being a part of our journey! We can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Photo: Marlise Ritchie in Cendrillon, August 2015.

Be in the loop

To stay up to date on MUO news and events, don’t forget to join the Telegram mailing list. Telegram is a short form email update you’ll receive one to three times per month. It includes info about upcoming shows, ticket sales, behind-the-scenes stories, and more.

Mission

Through unique and immersive experiences in unconventional venues, Manitoba Underground Opera follows opera’s historical tradition telling stories that matter today. 

Vision

Manitoba Underground Opera's audience is diverse and engaged. As members of this audience experience the world in different ways, so does our company continue to grow and evolve.  

Guiding Principles

  • As a company whose reach spans 5 Numbered Treaties, we believe that our roots help to orient us in our current time and place. 
  • We are advocates for opera’s ability to speak to the modern day in innovative ways, and reflect the diversity of our communities.
  • We are supporters of local artistic talent by working towards offering competitive compensation. 
  • We are partners with charities, artists, and organizations working towards the future of accessible and inclusive arts in Manitoba. 
  • As a charitable organization, we believe that outreach, education, and audience development activities reap benefits above and beyond an appreciation of opera.

Photo: Andrea Lett filming Green Envelopes, August 2020.

Manitoba Underground Opera was founded on Treaty 1 land, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. These lands are the traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, and Nakota Nations. In addition, our tours extend throughout the province of Manitoba, also encompassing Treaties 2, 3, 4, and 5.


As expressed in our Mission and Guiding Principles, MUO believes that our historic roots help to orient us today, and we acknowledge that we are telling stories on lands that have witnessed storytelling over thousands of years. We also acknowledge that opera has not always been welcoming of communities of colour, including Indigenous communities. We are committed to collaborating with Indigenous communities, and believe in the arts as a driver of dialogue and change.

Our Team

Brendan McKeen

Brendan McKeen

Brendan McKeen

General Manager

Janice Marple

Brendan McKeen

Brendan McKeen

Administrative Director

Carmen Harris

Brendan McKeen

Carmen Harris

Social Media Manager

Board of Directors

Andrea Bellhouse, Chair

Craig Ross, Vice-Chair

Nicki LeGrand, Treasurer

Olivia Kang, Artists' Representative

Taliesin Dorais-Fleming

Rosemarie van der Hooft

Danielle Tétrault 

Dr. Carolyn Weiss

The Coronation of Poppea at La Cathedrale de Saint-Boniface, 2018

Annual Reports

2021 Annual Report (pdf)Download
2020 Annual Report (pdf)Download
2019 Annual Report (pdf)Download
2018 Annual Report (pdf)Download
2017 Annual Report (pdf)Download
2016 Annual Report (pdf)Download
  • About Us
  • Previous Festivals
  • Opera for Children Tour
  • Support

Manitoba Underground Opera was founded on Treaty 1 land, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. These lands are the traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, and Nakota Nations. In addition, our tours extend throughout the province of Manitoba, also encompassing Treaties 2, 3, 4, and 5.

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