Manitoba Opera is an opera company in Winnipeg, Manitoba that was founded in 1969. Its first production was a concert version of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore in 1972.[1] Manitoba Opera is one of several western Canadian opera companies that flourished under the so-called "father of opera in Western Canada," Irving Guttman.[2] He has been instrumental in the development of many young Canadian singers, including Winnipeg native Tracy Dahl (soprano) and Winkler's Phillip Ens (bass). Both have gone on to international careers.[3]
In November 2007, the company staged its first original production, Transit of Venus, composed by Victor Davies, with a libretto by Maureen Hunter, based on her stage play of the same name.