Out of a pool of 120 aspiring opera singers from across the country, eight were selected to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition on November 3, 2015, our annual celebration of the next generation of opera stars selected from nationwide auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio—Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals. The competition features the young singers vying for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 to $5,000. We interviewed our eight young finalists to learn more—check out all of the interviews, linked by name as they become available, here (or here if on a mobile device). 

Stratford, Ontario native and soprano Eliza Johnson studied at the University of Toronto, where her roles included Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Despina in Così fan tutte, Rob Ford’s Mother in Rob Ford: The Opera and Lucy in The Telephone. Additional credits include Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (Highlands Opera Studio); Berta in The Barber of Seville and Soeur Valentine in Dialogues des Carmélites (Opera Theatre of St. Louis); Pamina in The Magic Flute (Opera Lyra’s Opera Studio); and concert appearances with the University of Toronto and Stratford symphony orchestras, and Stratford Summer Music. Recently, Ms. Johnson won First Prize in the Brian Law Opera Competition with the National Capital Opera Society and was a finalist for the Ryan Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

Three Things about Eliza Johnson

If you weren’t pursuing a career in opera, what would you be doing instead?        

Is this a trick question? I am literally obsessed with opera and honestly can’t imagine myself doing anything else. If my passion for anything else were equal to or greater than my passion for opera, I definitely would not have chosen this career or invested so much in it!
        
That said, if I had all the luxury of living multiple lives, I think I would pursue a career as a painter. When I was younger, it was a constant toss-up between art and music. I still work when I can, but paints and canvases are not very compact for a travelling opera singer; gowns and shoes take up a lot of space! I’d love to see what would happen if I devoted myself fully to painting, but for now that’s a question that will remain unanswered!   

  

2. What are your hobbies, interests, other projects, outside of opera?

What are your hobbies, interests, other projects, outside of opera?

I love to paint and love to cook. I love reading and feeding myself artistically from a variety of mediums.  I love to travel and learn about other cultures and communities. I love to bike and move my body! I love my friends: musicians and non-musicians (whose perspectives and ideas can be very refreshing!). 

Do you have a dream role?  What is it?

There are so many! The repertoire is so vast and each piece is so unique. In a way, any role that is a good vocal fit is a "dream role" since any opportunity to sing is exciting and rich. 

If I have to choose, I think my absolute favorite opera of all time (for now) is Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. I had the opportunity to sing the role of Governess when I was studying at the University of Toronto and the experience has yet to be topped. I would love to perform this role again!

I’m also very interested in working with living composers and developing new works. I hope I am able to experience more of this process throughout my career.

Learn more about Eliza at elizajohnson.ca or follow her on Twitter at @ElizaJohnsonSop or on Instagram at @elizajanejohnson

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit COCCentreStage.ca, call COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231 or visit the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W.).

To buy competition tickets, click here.
To buy Under 30 competition tickets sponsored by TD, click here.
For more information about the the Centre Stage Dinner event and how to purchase tickets, please contact the PC Office at 416-363-5801