Welcome to the Second Act of Against the Grain Theatre!

"I’m beyond thrilled to share with you the first harvest of a year spent dreaming up new projects and ideas for the Second Act of Against the Grain, a company that has stood for community, quality, and innovation for over fifteen years. Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of my favourite composers, librettists, singers, directors, and the many wonderful people who come together to create opera in bold and theatrical ways.

"I’m especially excited to be supporting work that amplifies the voices of Indigenous and queer colleagues, and to be developing projects that celebrate what it means to be Canadian by drawing on our rich literary heritage.

"My hope is that in the years ahead, you’ll discover something in our work that resonates with you. Opera is a medium for us all, and we welcome everyone to share in the singular joy that emerges when stories are spun, sung, and brought to life on stage.” - Royce Vavrek, Artistic Director

The 2025/26 season:

Canuck Cantatas

Three world premieres…six visionary artists…one inventive night of Canadian opera!

Composers: Sonny-Ray Day Rider, Sarah Slean, and Danika Lorèn

Librettists: Royce Vavrek, Emma Pennell

Canuck Cantatas presents a triptych of bold new mini-operas from some of Canada’s most exciting creative talents: composers Sonny-Ray Day Rider, Sarah Slean and Danika Lorèn join forces with librettists Emma Pennell and AtG Artistic Director Royce Vavrek to bring to life vivid snapshots of fictional Canadian characters, each one a carefully crafted stone in the ever-evolving mosaic of Canadian identity.

Indians on Vacation

An opera based on the Thomas King novel of the same name

Composed by: Ian Cusson

Libretto by: Royce Vavrek

Based on the book by Thomas King

Starring: Marion Newman, Mezzo-soprano; Evan Korbut, Baritone

Language: English

Developed in partnership with Edmonton Opera

A poignant and comedic slice-of-life of a contemporary, middle-aged indigenous couple.

We proudly announce Indians on Vacation, a new opera based on the novel by Thomas King composed by Ian Cusson with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. AtG, in partnership with Edmonton Opera and supported by the Yukon Arts Centre. We are delighted to be presenting this work from May 8th to 10th, 2026.

Originally developed as a part of Edmonton Opera’s Wild Rose Project, this mini-opera adaptation of Thomas King’s novel has been expanded into a full opera starring Marion Newman as Mimi and Evan Korbut as Bird.

In Thomas King’s Indians on Vacation, we meet a contemporary Indigenous couple: Bird and Mimi. We find the couple on a trip through Europe they decided to take after discovering a trove of old postcards from Mimi’s late Uncle Leroy, who absconded to Europe with a family heirloom 100 years ago. As the couple ventures across Europe, trying to unravel the mystery of Uncle Leroy, Bird confronts his inner demons.

Indians on Vacation has been developed over the past few years through workshops at the Yukon Arts Centre, AtG in Toronto, and Edmonton Opera. This project has grown from a 10 minute scene to a fully-staged, 70-minute production.

Opera Pub is BACK

Toronto, get ready for an opera pub-crawl!

This year, we're gonna be hopping all around Toronto with our incredible pianist and host Spencer Kryzanowski and Artistic Director Royce Vavrek!

Each night will have a featured singer (who we will introduce you to when the time comes!) and will be at a new venue.

It's time to mark your calendars! Our first Opera Pub of the season is October 27th, 7:00 pm at The Emmet Ray, featuring Jaclyn Grossman.

Visit atgtheatre.com.