Essential Opera

Essential Opera is based in Atlantic Canada, founded in 2010 by co-artistic directors Erin Bardua and Maureen Batt. Highlights of our company’s history include signing with classical label Leaf Music, EPs and short films, showcasing at JUNOfest and the ECMAs, co-productions with highly respected festivals and organizations, and a series of projects addressing issues of Equity & Belonging in opera. Our projects, commissions, and performances have been supported by SOCAN, Arts Nova Scotia, Music Nova Scotia, Arts New Brunswick, Music New Brunswick, the Ontario Arts Council, FACTOR, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Our 15th anniversary is marked by milestone projects including a full-length debut album coming out in April 2026 of operas by Monica Pearce, a new work in development with composer-librettist Fiona Ryan called “In Her Hands: The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth”, and more films! Our EP “Etiquette” earned Monica Pearce an ECMA nomination for Classical Composer of the Year in 2024.

EO is one of a very small number of East Coast opera organizations commissioning, presenting, and championing recently commissioned works by living composers, especially those from typically excluded groups. We have always believed new compositions are inherently “essential”. Opera is a living art form; what we do and how we do it has to respond to the world in which we’re producing it.