At MYOpera we pride ourselves in our team of artists and leaders that support the company’s mission and values.
MYOpera’s artistic team includes:
Kate Applin, Founder & Artistic Director
Stephanie Applin, General Director
Natasha Fransblow, Music Director
Anna Theodosakis, Stage Director
Kate Applin
Artistic Director
Kate Applin is lauded for her passionate work in Toronto’s operatic community. In 2010, Kate founded MYOpera with a plan to give emerging artists in Toronto their first opportunities to perform complete roles and be compensated. In addition to her role as Artistic Director of MYOpera Kate performed with the company for four years as Despina in Così fan tutte (2011), Adina in L’elisir d’amore (2012), Serpina in La serva padrona (2013), and Gretel in Hänsel & Gretel (2014). In 2015, Kate completed her Master’s in Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier University with a specialization in Marketing and Strategic Management.
Stephanie Applin
General Director
A life-long lover of opera, Stephanie got her first taste when she was four years old, playing the role of Madama Butterfly’s son in the inaugural run of Brian McDonald’s iconic production for the Canadian Opera Company (COC). Stephanie sang with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company for nearly a decade and has appeared as a supernumerary in over a dozen COC productions. Stephanie has been involved with MYOpera since its inaugural season and joined as General Director in 2014, expanding MYOpera’s activities and events, including an annual Season Launch party and MYOpera’s network of Alumni. Stephanie has worked as the Project Manager for the launch of Indie Opera Toronto, the Toronto collective of independent opera producers, and works to drive their goal of supporting one another as advocates of innovative opera and chamber music experiences.
Natasha Fransblow
Music Director
Natasha has enthusiastically carved her space in Toronto’s vibrant classical music community as an active and sought-after vocal collaborator and coach. She is a graduate of Dalhousie University (B.Mus.) and the University of Manitoba (M.Mus.). Natasha held a faculty position as Undergraduate Vocal Coach at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and worked closely with their Opera Studies department. Since her move to Toronto, she has music directed with Summer Opera Lyric Theatre (Martha, 2015), Toronto Operetta Theatre (HMS Pinafore, 2015), and Loose Tea Music Theatre (Carmen, reimagined, 2016). She joined MYOpera in 2014 on Hänsel & Gretel for the Kawartha Concerts Encore Series in Lindsay, ON, and continued with Béatrice et Bénédict (2015), The Rape of Lucretia (2016), and The Italian Girl in Algiers (2017) to rave reviews.
Anna Theodosakis
Stage Director
Anna Theodosakis is a Toronto-based director and choreographer. Originally from Vancouver, Anna has a Bachelor and Masters of Music from the University of British Columbia in Opera Performance. In 2016 she received an Artist Diploma from the University of Toronto in Operatic Stage Direction where she had the honour of being the first student to direct a UofT Opera mainstage production with The Medium in 2015. After graduating Anna has continued to teach dance and movement for the Opera Division as well as choreographing their mainstage shows.
Anna teaches regularly as a dramatic coach for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio and often assistant directs for the COC mainstage operas including John Caird’s La bohème in Spring 2019. In 2017 Anna was faculty at the Centre for Opera Studies Italy (COSI) where she directed L’elisir d’amore and taught dance. She has also directed the students of Wilfrid Laurier University, the Glenn Gould Conservatory, and the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Anna is the resident stage director for MYOpera, directing The Rape of Lucretia and L’italiana in Algeri. She was also the resident stage director for the Canadian Art Song Project which included staging a new commission with the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio by Ana Sokolovic: dawn always begins in the bones. In 2018 Anna co-founded the multi-disciplinary theatre company Muse 9 Productions with Hyejin Kwon upon receiving the 2017 Vancouver Opera Guild Career Development Grant. Muse 9’s acclaimed inaugural production From the Diary of Virginia Woolf was remounted for the COC’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre Free Concert Series in November 2018.
Anna has recently directed for the following companies: Canadian Opera Company, UofT Opera, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Banff Centre, MYOpera, COSI, Opera Laurier, Glenn Gould Conservatory, Canadian Art Song Project, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Manitoba Underground Opera, Muskoka Opera Festival, and the Toronto Summer Music Festival. She has been an assistant director for Tim Albery, Paul Curran, Joel Ivany, Robert Lepage/Marilyn Gronsdal, Michael Mori, Michael Albano, Michael Cavanagh, Nancy Hermiston, and Tim Nelson.