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Taka Komagata

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Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Taka experienced an early childhood that was chalk-full of theatre and opera. Both of his parents were Shakespearean actors, and his sister is a successful musical theatre actress in Japan. His family was one of the greatest contributing factors that gave Taka his love for opera, and they continue to be a point of inspiration for him as he moves forward with his musical career.

Taka had his first vocal coaching session in the first grade and is continuing his rigorous education while attending the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The opportunity to have received education in both Japan and America has given Taka a wonderful perspective on the importance of diversity in operas today. Taka’s experience coupled with his energetic personality will provide for an outstanding addition to our 2018 cast. We are excited to have you onboard!

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“We all are different. We all have different backgrounds, different life stories. I believe if you can connect a role with your personal, deep, and real emotion, you can give a life to a role. Sometimes we have to express what we have never experienced before.” -Taka Komagata

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Thera Barclay

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″ text_font=”Arial||||||||”] Originating from Ottawa, Thera’s journey through the theatrical arts began at a very young age. She began singing, as well as taking dancing and acting classes all throughout her elementary school years. Her family was very supportive of her, and her father in particular gave Thera the attention and interest that pushed her to pursue opera. After completing her first year of Master of Music in Opera at the University of British Columbia, Thera is ready for Poppea! With years of previous opera experience under her belt, Thera is a team-oriented, charismatic individual who will surely bring a lot to the table. Thera is excited to be a part of sharing stories and music to the younger generations and keeping the opera culture live and well. Thera is also keen to identify and recognize the cultural appropriations, sexism, and racism that has existed in operas in the past, and how to work with them going forward. As Thera puts it so beautifully, “It’s one thing to change the costumes and the sets, it’s another to navigate integral plot details that are inappropriate and offensive to today’s audiences. The balance lies in finding ways to acknowledge and confront the offensive material, but doing so without compromising the integrity of the work.” [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image src=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.formstack.com/uploads/2690218/52381308/422079921/52381308_dsc_2248_colour_web_1.jpg” _builder_version=”3.9″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”#0c71c3″ animation_style=”fold” animation_duration=”850ms” animation_intensity_fold=”20%” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.8″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″ text_font=”Arial||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_4_font=”||||||||” header_5_font=”||||||||” header_6_font=”||||||||”] It is blatantly clear that Thera Barclay would make an absolutely outstanding addition to the Halifax Summer Opera Festival of 2018! [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″ text_font=”Arizonia||||||||” text_text_color=”#8300e9″ text_font_size=”47px” header_font=”||||||||” header_font_size=”37px” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_6_font=”||||||||”] Nina Scott-Stoddart [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″ text_font=”Arial||||||||”] Growing up in Toronto, Nina Scott-Stoddart was introduced to the world of opera through two powerful women in her life. Her grandmother provided her with the very first tastes of listening to opera, while her mother, who was a talented singer, supported Nina in every way possible to pursue a musical career. Music continued to play a heavy role in Nina’s life throughout her schooling, but she really began to focus on singing after high school. After joining a church choir and being specially trained by the music director, Nina experienced her first arias, and her very first opera. Today, Nina seeks to further her love and experience by directing one of the three main stage operas in our 2018 Summer Opera Festival; Don Giovanni. Nina has previously worked as director for this play nearly twelve years ago. Her knowledge of the ins and outs of Mozart’s great opera paired with her keen eye to recognize brilliance amongst a diverse cast makes her a truly incredible person to fill this position. To increase the diversity of both production teams and performers all along the line is a concept that Nina values and believes in with tremendous amounts of passion. Having more women and minorities immersed in opera culture is one of her top priorities. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image src=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.formstack.com/uploads/2690218/52381308/420814820/52381308_fullsizerender_4.jpg” _builder_version=”3.8″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”#8300e9″ animation_style=”fold” animation_duration=”850ms” animation_intensity_fold=”20%” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.8″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″ text_font=”Arial||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_4_font=”||||||||” header_5_font=”||||||||” header_6_font=”||||||||”] “Halifax Summer Opera Festival is the culmination of a lifetime of seeking to make opera immediate, demystified and relevant – to remove from it the burden or stain of high art and to bring it up close to audiences and performers.” – Nina Scott-Stoddart [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]