Tenor Andrew Haji is certainly keeping himself busy at the COC lately. As if playing the role of Tamino in our current production of The Magic Flute was not enough, Andrew is also performing a recital of love songs on February 14 as a part of the Free Concert Series, returning this spring to sing Gabriel Dumont in Louis Riel, and preparing for the role of Nemorino in our production of The Elixir of Love next season! Why not get to know a little more about this former Ensemble Studio member who is becoming one of Canada's great opera singers?

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What is your go to song for karaoke?

"Circle of Life" from The Lion King

What is the best advice you've been given?

Follow your heart

If you weren't an opera singer, you would be...?

An IT consultant

What is your dream operatic role, regardless of voice type?

Rodolfo from La Bohème

What book have you read again and again?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

iPhone or Android?

iPhone up until now, but Android is growing on me!

You can only watch one movie/TV show for the rest of your life. What move/TV show would that be?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

New Zealand

What sequel to an opera would you like to see happen?

The Marriage of Figaro II: Basilio's Revenge

Who are three people, alive or dead or fictional, that you would like to have dinner with?

Luciano Pavarotti, Steve Jobs, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard

What is the farthest you have been from home?

Athens, Greece

What's your favourite sports team?

Any Toronto team, as long as they're winning

Any pre-performance or post-performance rituals?

Rest, water, and deep breathing

If you were in a boy band, what would the band's name be?

I was in a boy band! We called ourselves "Shades of Black." Don't ask me why.

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

I have webbed toes.

What would be the title of your autobiography?

A Pirate's Life for Me—Living on the High Cs!

What's something that you have always wanted to try but you've been too scared to do?

Eating a durian.

What is one piece of advice for Tamino?

Start learning how to play the flute!

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See Andrew Haji as Tamino in The Magic Flute, on stage now at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts until February 24! For more information and tickets, click here. 

Andrew is set to perform the role of Nemorino in Donizetti's The Elixir of Love during the 2017 Fall season! Click here for more information on subscribing to the 17/18 Season to see this and more.

Finally, Andrew is performing a solo recital of love songs, accompanied by Head of the Ensemble Studio, Liz Upchurch, on Valentine's Day! This recital is a part of the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. For more information on attending this free performance, click here.

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Photo credits (top - bottom): Andrew Haji in The Magic Flute (COC, 2017), photo by Michael Cooper; Andrew Haji and Elena Tsallagova in The Magic Flute (COC, 2017), photo by Chris Hutcheson; The members of Shades of Black; Andrew Haji and Elena Tsallagova in The Magic Flute (COC, 2017), photo by Michael Cooper.