The Association for Opera in Canada has announced the finalists for the 2023 New Works Pitch Program.

Finalists include “Jewish Space Lasers,” a cabaret-style theater piece that spotlights Jewish composers from the Holocaust. The showcase is presented by the Likht Ensemble. Another finalist is “The HAFU??? Project,” “an art-song autobiographical exploration of identity and disconnection from culture.” The work is presented by Luka Kawabata. Another finalist, Opera NUOVA’s “Silence,” an opera by Leslie Uyeda and Darrin Hagen, is a work about absolute power and its consequences on the powerless.

Also among the finalists is Rebecca Gray and Rache Gray’s “Raccoon Opera;” Haui, Sean Mayes, and the Canadian Opera Company’s “Aportia Chyrptych;” and Opera 5’s “Come Closer.”

Each finalist will get a pitching opportunity at the American Opera Conference (AOC) in Pittsburgh this May.

“We are excited to introduce and showcase these deserving opera projects at the OPERA America Conference in Pittsburgh this May,” said Christina Loewen, Executive Director of AOC in an official press statement. “We believe that by promoting and spotlighting new works by equity-seeking creative teams, we help to define a unique Canadian opera identity, leading to a more diverse, productive and resilient future opera sector.”

The program is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Azrieli Foundation.