The Canadian Opera Company has announced that Canadian stage director Julie McIsaac will become the inaugural Director/Dramaturg-in-Residence with the company.

COC announced that the year-long residency is the newest addition to the COC Academy, the company’s professional development program for young opera artists, creators, and administrators.

“I’m delighted to be a part of the COC Academy, and to explore and develop my skills alongside the COC Ensemble Studio,” McIsaac noted in a press release. “I’m also looking forward to spending time in Toronto again and reacquainting myself with the city’s dynamic arts world. This is where I first heard a full orchestra, and where I first experienced the power of storytelling on a large stage; I have memories of being 16 years old and standing in line for hours for student rush tickets – and then being so moved by the music that I wept until the collar of my sweater was soaked.”

McIsaac, an experienced stage director, dramaturg, playwright/librettist, and multi-instrumentalist, will receive advanced instruction, hands-on experience, and the practical career guidance required for industry success in her residency. She will serve as assistant director on the COC’s upcoming production of Humperdinck’s “Hansel & Gretel,” alongside Toronto stage director Joel Ivany and experienced dramaturg Katherine Syer.

McIsaac will also play a vital role in adapting the opera into a youth-friendly, English-language, 90-minute version that will be staged as the COC’s Opera for Young Audiences production in February 2020 and she will also collaborate with COC Composer-in-Residence Ian Cusson on staging a new work for young audiences, previously commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company.