Aria Umezawa - Alto

Aria Umezawa is a Canadian opera director and freelance singer based out of Toronto. She is a founding partner of Opera Five, an opera company that produces mixed-media operas, and in January 2012 she will be travelling to Boston, MA to direct “David et Jonathas” as part of Helios Opera’s premier season.

Aria has worked extensively with Patrick Hansen at Opera McGill, acting as Stage Manager, and/or Assistant Director on ten of their productions over the past three years including their 2008 staging of Lully’s “Thésee”; the 2009 staging Handel’s “Agrippina”; and the 2010 production of Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress”, directed by guest director David Lefkowich. She has also assisted Canadian directors François Racine, and acclaimed counter-tenor Daniel Taylor in his directorial debut of “Dido and Aeneas” in 2010. For the past two seasons, Aria has worked at the Janeic Opera Company at the Brevard Institute of Music in North Carolina. There she worked with acclaimed directors David Gately, Dean Anthony. Performance credits include 2010 Musimars performance in Montreal with German actor and composer Christian Kestin, singing with the choir at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, and Alto soloist for the world premiere of Canadian composer Darren Russo’s “Missa Sylabus”. She also sang and acted as vocal coach for the Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir under Lynn Janes for their 2007/2008 season.

Aria is absolutely thrilled to be singing her first season with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.