The opera sector is evolving—and so are the ways we sustain and fund it. As part of our commitment to exploring new models of resilience and sustainability in the arts, we are proud to launch the Opera Bonds Accelerator: a readiness program designed to equip opera creators and companies with the tools to leverage social finance for long-term impact.
Backed by the Canada Council for the Arts’ Sector Innovation Grant, this program aims to help Canadian opera projects become investment-ready, diversifying revenue streams and strengthening organizational capacity. In a time when traditional funding models face increasing pressure, social finance offers a compelling alternative—one that aligns financial returns with measurable social and cultural value.
Why Social Finance for Opera?
Social finance mobilizes capital not just for profit, but for purpose. In the arts, it enables companies and creators to expand beyond the limits of annual grants and short-term funding cycles. As Elizabeth MacKinnon and Christine Pellerin highlighted in their 2018 article More than Money: How Social Finance Can Build Resilience in the Arts Sector, this model has the power to “grow the pie” by introducing new funding sources and encouraging long-term thinking.
Key benefits for the opera sector include:
- Diversifying and stabilizing funding
- Building investment-readiness and leadership capacity
- Fostering collaboration with the broader nonprofit and social finance sectors
- Demonstrating the social impact of the arts through clear, data-driven metrics
Meet the 2025 Opera Bonds Accelerator Cohort
Erica Hassell – Pacific Opera Victoria
Director of Production & Artistic Administration
Erica is exploring how social finance can help Pacific Opera develop modular, reusable scenic systems that support scalable and environmentally sustainable production practices.
“Through the Opera Bonds Accelerator, I’m excited for Pacific Opera to explore how social finance can support sustainable, scalable production practices in opera. We’re particularly interested in developing financial models for modular, reusable scenic systems that reduce environmental impact without compromising artistic quality. This program offers a valuable opportunity to test ideas, build capacity, and align our work with a more resilient and eco-conscious future for the art form.”
Dr. Afarin Mansouri – Cultureland Opera Collective
Artistic Director & Composer
Dr. Mansouri is an award-winning composer and cultural leader whose work fuses Persian musical traditions with Western opera to explore themes of identity, mysticism, and justice. Through Cultureland, she creates innovative operas rooted in Middle Eastern narratives, collaborating with major institutions such as the COC, Tapestry Opera, and the Toronto Symphony.
“As the Artistic Director of Cultureland Opera Collective, I’m incredibly excited and honored to be part of the Opera Bonds Accelerator. I see this as a pivotal opportunity to connect more deeply with Canada’s opera ecosystem, introduce our unique voice to a wider audience, and find the right collaborators and champions who truly believe in the power of new opera to reflect diverse stories.”
HAUI™ – Mixed Media Artist & Director
HAUI™ is a cross-disciplinary artist whose recent credits include MixedUp (OUTtv) and Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White, co-created with Sean Mayes and hailed by The Globe and Mail as a landmark in Canadian opera. He is also a published playwright, artist-in-residence, and upcoming fellow at the Watermill Center in New York. His work challenges conventional narratives and opens new space for Black and Caribbean voices in opera, using social finance as a tool for broader impact and international reach.
Natalya Gennadi & Catharin Carew – HBD!Project
This women-led collective works across music, performance, visual art, and technology to challenge the norms of traditional opera. Rooted in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the HBD!Project amplifies underrepresented voices while keeping work accessible to broad audiences.
Building a Future-Ready Opera Sector
By investing in new models of production and funding, the Opera Bonds Accelerator is helping to redefine what it means to create opera in Canada. These artists and companies are not just building performances—they’re building systems, relationships, and futures.
Stay tuned as we follow their journeys—and as we continue to explore how social finance can support a more inclusive, sustainable, and vibrant operatic landscape.