Brenna Corner
MA, BMus
Artistic Director
Brenna Corner is an international opera stage director who has worked across Canada, the United States and Europe. She is the former Artistic Director of Manitoba Underground Opera, which produces a festival of new operatic experiences each August in Winnipeg. She has also worked as a dramatic coach for training programs such as The Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist Program in Washington D.C.
Ms. Corner made her directorial main stage debut in 2016 with a new production of Hansel and Gretel designed by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop for Vancouver Opera. This production has since then begun to travel, mostly recently to San Diego Opera for their 2019-20 season. She made her American debut in February of 2017 with New Orleans Opera, creating a new production of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Since the COVID-19 pandemic Brenna has been creating new opera experiences through film including Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera), Carmen: Up-close and Personal (Vancouver Opera), Dear Mom: a web series (Kentucky Opera) and Green Envelopes (Manitoba Underground Opera).
Some of Ms. Corner’s select directing projects include: Il trovatore (Washington National Opera), Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera); Sweeney Todd (New Orleans Opera); Tenor Overboard (Glimmerglass Opera); Der fliegende Höllander (Cincinnati Opera & Houston Grand Opera ); L’Elisir d’amore (Vancouver Opera); Dead Man Walking (The Israeli Opera); and Carmen (The Atlanta Opera). Upcoming productions include Lucia di Lammermoor (New Orleans Opera); Pagliacci (The Glimmerglass Festival).
Ms. Corner has been a member of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera and spent two years as the resident director for The Atlanta Opera Studio Artist Program. She is a certified member of Fight Directors Canada and has choreographed many fights for both opera and theatre. Brenna has a degree in classical music from The University of Manitoba, and theatre diplomas from Grant MacEwan College in Alberta and The British American Drama Academy in the United Kingdom.