Vancouver Opera

Mikayla Sager

Canadian lirico-spinto soprano Mikayla Sager is a recent graduate of the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera, where she performed Mimì (La Bohème), Inez (Il Trovatore), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), and Giannetta (L'Elisir d'amore). Other roles performed include Violetta (La Traviata), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), Micaela (Carmen), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), and The Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen).

Rachael McAuley

Originally from Ottawa, mezzo-soprano Rachael McAuley has made a home for herself in Vancouver, and she is thrilled to be singing for her community at Opera in the Park this year! After being named a winner of the Western Canada District in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Rachael is very thankful to have had recent performance opportunities with Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Vancouver Chamber Choir, and Banff Centre. Learn more at www.rachaelmcauley.com

Isaiah Bell

Tenor Isaiah Bell sings across North America as a soloist in concert and opera, and has found an artistic home in new creations alongside creative re-interpretations of classic works. This upcoming season, Isaiah returns to the Canadian Opera Company as Quint in Britten’s Turn of the Screw and Pacific Opera Victoria as Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and sees concert engagements with Orchestre classique de Montréal, San Francisco’s Zephyr Symphony, and the North Carolina Symphony.

Gregory Dahl

Gregory Dahl is one of Canada’s leading baritones, praised for his “warm, powerful voice” (Winnipeg Free Press). He has appeared in leading roles across Canada and on international stages, including English National Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Teatro Real. In 2025–2026, Dahl reprises Scarpia (Tosca) for Manitoba Opera, Monterone (Rigoletto) with the Canadian Opera Company, Gianni Schicchi with Opera 5, and Marcello (La Bohème) at Vancouver Opera.

Jacques Lacombe

Conductor

Active for over 30 years internationally, Jacques Lacombe has been Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières, and Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse in France. He has collaborated with major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera House, Royal Opera at Covent Garden, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. Jacques Lacombe was appointed Music Director at Vancouver Opera in 2023.

Marijka Asbeek Brusse

Stage Manager

Marijka has enjoyed working on dozens of Vancouver Opera productions over the past 15 years, as well as productions at Pacific Opera Victoria, Canadian Opera Company, Arts Club Theatre, Canadian Stage, Belfry Theatre, and as a Faculty stage manager at the Banff Centre’s Opera program in 2019. Marijka has a BFA from UBC Theatre Production & Design, where she also taught stage management for seven seasons.

Theresa Tsang

Assistant Stage Manager

In her 30 seasons with Vancouver Opera’s Stage Management Department, Theresa Tsang has worked on nearly 100 productions for VO. She also stage manages for Wexford Festival Opera, Highlands Opera Studio, and Garsington Opera earning acclaim for The Turn of the Screw and Silent Night. A UBC graduate, she is lauded internationally and received recognition from the Stage Management Association in London.

ANGUS KELLETT

Répétiteur

Over 20 productions as répétiteur with Vancouver Opera, including The Magic Flute (debut, 2007), Eugene Onegin, Nixon in China, and West Side Story. As music director for Burnaby Lyric Opera: La bohème, Carmen, Il barbiere di Siviglia, L'elisir d'amore, Madama Butterfly, and Pagliacci/Gianni Schicchi. Keyboardist for many productions with the Arts Club, Gateway Theatre, and Broadway Across Canada.

Jamie Sweeney

Video Caller

Jamie Sweeney is a Canadian, Vancouver-based theatre collaborator. She is a lighting designer, a production manager, a performer, a deviser, a creator, and an artist. She has a BFA in theatre production and design from Simon Fraser University. Some companies she has worked with include Ballet BC, Bard on the Beach, Vancouver Opera, Arts Club, Rice & Beans Theatre, vAct, and Neworld Theatre.

Sarah Jane Pelzer

SurTitle™ Creator

Sarah Jane Pelzer is a stage director and surtitlist based in Vancouver, BC. She has directed, assisted, and taught across Canada and the US at Vancouver, Edmonton, and Manitoba Opera, Opera on the Avalon, Opera Kelowna, Wolf Trap, and the New England Conservatory. Sarah is the co-founder of Lucky Penny Opera, a company dedicated to exploring alternative models for creating opera performances.

Leah Giselle Field

SurTitle™ Operator

Canadian Contralto Leah Giselle Field is noted for her versatility as a vocalist and the strength of her dramatic presence. Praised for “soaring tone and spectacular low notes” in her “sumptuous” instrument, she is a graduate of Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program, a Vancouver Opera Foundation Amatori bursary recipient and regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia.