Opera Atelier will open its 2026-27 season with Canada's first fully staged production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier's "The Descent of Orpheus."

The Toronto company will present the work at Koerner Hall's TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning from October 22 to 25, 2026. Founding Co-Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski, C.M. and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, C.M. will direct the fully staged and choreographed production.

Pynkoski signaled a shift in the company's visual approach. "While still grounded in the concept of period performance, Opera Atelier's production of 'The Descent of Orpheus' will reflect a more contemporary aesthetic," he said in a statement. "This has much to do with Charpentier's unrivaled ability to blend soaring human emotion with the formality of 17th century French prose and music."

The company has assembled a cast of French specialists for the production. American tenor Daniel McGrew and French-Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin lead the ensemble. They will be joined by French baritone David Witczak, French-Canadian bass Olivier Bergeron, and Canadian mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel.

Associate Music Director Dr. Christopher Bagan will conduct from the harpsichord, leading an elite ensemble of soloists from Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Artist-in-Residence Measha Brueggergosman-Lee will open the evening with a unique prologue.

The production marks a significant addition to Toronto's baroque opera offerings, pairing a 17th-century French masterwork with contemporary staging for the first time on a fully staged Canadian platform.