Manitoba Opera returns to the Centennial Concert Hall this weekend with a double bill consisting of two one-act operas—Menotti’s The Telephone and Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine.

Directed by Jacqueline Loewen, the semi-staged works feature 3 singers, Lida Szkwarek and Johnathon Kirby in The Telephone, and Lara Ciekiewicz in La Voix Humaine, with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on stage, under the direction of Naomi Woo.

“It’s been amazing,” says Naomi Woo, between rehearsals ahead of this weekend’s performances.

Though this is her first time conducting a Manitoba Opera production, Woo is no stranger to the opera world. Working as an opera coach and conductor during her university studies, she was also one of a small handful of participants accepted to the prestigious training program at the National Opera Studio for women conductors, hosted by the Royal Philharmonic Society and Royal Opera House in London, England. 

“Opera is this wonderful way that you get to explore, and talk about words and stories, and music with a whole bunch of other people,” explains Woo. “I mean, it’s just all of the things that I love!” 

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Connect with live opera in Winnipeg again Friday (November 5) and Saturday (November 6). Both performances take place at 7:30 pm. For tickets and details on the health and safety protocol, visit: www.mbopera.ca 

In the full conversation below, Naomi Woo discusses some of the differences between leading an orchestra in a symphonic performance versus an opera production; what it's like to reconnect with live opera; and, her preferred method of communication!