michael ALBANO
MICHAEL PATRICK ALBANO is an opera director, librettist, dramaturg and educator who has had a major influence on generations of young people working in all aspects of opera. Currently he is resident stage director for UofT Opera. Today the notion that people can work as opera directors in Canada is taken for granted. When Albano was in university in the 1970s, it was not, and he has seen and contributed to the changes that have led to the vibrant opera culture that exists in Toronto today.
In a telephone interview, Albano revealed that while growing up in Port Colborne he was always interested in theatre. His first time directing was in high school when he stepped in to lead the senior play during a teachers’ work-to-rule strike.
His principal love, however, was opera. “I was obsessed with the Saturday afternoon Live
