The lineup for Operanation 8: A Muse Ball just got a dose of indie-cool: breakthrough Canadian dance-pop band Austra will be joining Rufus Wainwright at the party. Austra's performance will include a collaboration with two members of the Ensemble Studio: soprano Ambur Braid (who tore up the stage at last year's Operanation with Broken Social Scene) and baritone Adrian Kramer.

Austra's frontwoman, Katie Stelmanis, is an alumnus of the Canadian Children's Opera Company, and credits her early exposure to opera as a major influence on her style. This Toronto Star review of Austra's debut album Feel it Break predicts that it " is going to make her an indie star." Check out the video above for a preview.

Two of our Ensemble Studio graduates, Wallis Giunta and Yannick Muriel-Noah, are singing leading roles in Opera Lyra Ottawa's upcoming production of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci! In this interview with the Ottawa Citizen (including a video), they discuss their roles and careers.

Alexander Neef, our General Director, blogs about Montreal's new Maison Symphonique: "as one might expect, the acoustics are glorious: detailed, warm, rich and transparent."