This month, we shine the spotlight on director, librettist, and longtime collaborator Michael Patrick Albano, who has played a vital role in shaping the CCOC’s legacy of musical storytelling for young voices.
Michael Patrick Albano’s relationship with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company stretches back to its earliest days and a friendship with its founder, Ruby Mercer. Mercer, who was also the editor and publisher of Opera Canada magazine, first invited Albano to direct for the CCOC on a double bill of The Selfish Giant by Charles Wilson and The Happy Prince by Malcolm Williamson. Based on two beloved Oscar Wilde fairy tales, the pairing was an irresistible introduction. “I was pleased to accept the offer,” Albano recalls—and so a long and meaningful artistic relationship began.
From Dickens to Alice (by way of a cow)
Among the many projects he has been part of with the CCOC, Albano speaks most fondly of the three operas he created in collaboration with composer Errol Gay, all written specifically for the company. The first, A Dickens of a Christmas, adapted Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and proved so popular it was revived three times. That success was followed by Laura’s Cow, an original libretto inspired by the legend of Laura Secord. Set against the backdrop of the War of 1812, the opera reflected Albano’s desire to tell a story of young women’s empowerment rooted in Canadian history. The trilogy was completed with Alice in Wonderland, an idea sparked by Ann Cooper-Gay and Errol Gay. For Albano, adapting Lewis Carroll posed both an opportunity and a challenge. His guiding principle was the same one he had applied to Dickens: preserve as much of the original text as possible. “Lewis Carroll was a genius—I am not,” he says with characteristic candour. Still, opera brings its own demands: syllable counts, rhyme schemes, and the need for traditional set pieces like arias. Inventing operatic soliloquies for characters such as Alice and the Queen of Hearts required imagination and restraint in equal measure. As the work returns to the stage this March, Albano is especially excited to see it reimagined by another director, “particularly one as inventive and forward-looking as Chelsea Woolley.”
Musical memories…
Some of Albano’s most treasured memories with the CCOC extend beyond the rehearsal hall. In 2012, the entire chorus travelled to Laura Secord’s house in Queenston Heights. After a private tour, the curator invited the choristers to sing. Standing in Secord’s own home, they performed the finale from Laura’s Cow. “And before you even ask,” Albano says, “yes, I cried.” Working with young artists has had a lasting impact on Albano’s broader artistic and teaching practice. “Young people remind you of the virtue of patience,” he reflects, adding that children perform with instinct, imagination, and unfiltered joy—all of which, he says, produce results that are nothing short of magical.
Michael Patrick Albano pictured to the left of the prop cow used in Laura’s Cow alongside CCOC staff and volunteers.
…and friendships to last a lifetime
If “busy” is a measure of creative vitality, Albano is thriving. He recently directed five short operas he wrote for the University of Toronto Opera’s student composer collective at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Theatre. Looking ahead, November 2026 will see the premiere of Fall River, a full-length opera exploring the legend of Lizzie Borden, created with composer Cecilia Livingstone and opening at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre. And, he hints, there may yet be another children’s opera in the works. Reflecting on his time with the CCOC, Albano points first to friendships—especially his partnership with Ann and Errol Gay—and to the legacy of the three operas they created together. He also speaks warmly of working with Teri Dunn prior to the COVID-forced cancellation of the Alice in Wonderland revival: “With her artistic leadership, I think the CCOC is in fine hands.”
