Career coda

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This article was published 12/06/2025 (395 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rocking out on a kid-friendly guitar as a four-year-old Elvis wannabe, Larry Desrochers could never have imagined he would go on to helm one of North America’s leading regional opera companies for a quarter-century.

The arts leader announced Thursday he’ll be stepping down in May 2026 as Manitoba Opera’s general director and CEO after 25 years.

He’s Canada’s longest-serving general director and one of the longest-serving general directors on the continent. His tenure includes producing and casting over 50 productions showcasing nearly 400 artists — more than 90 per cent Canadian with a “Manitobans first” policy — with world-class performances grounded in savvy, eclectic programming.

“Not in a million years did I ever think I would be working in the arts. It never crossed my mind at all; however, I think it all worked out just fine,” says the famously down-to-earth director, 66, who studied theatre at the University of Winnipeg during the mid-1980s and once nursed a passion to become a journalist.

Upon recommendation of an ongoing leadership transition committee, his dual roles will be divided into two distinct full-time positions: artistic director and executive director.

Desrochers, who hails from Baldur (population 320), is currently putting the finishing touches on the 2026/27 season. He will become interim artistic director in early August, working in tandem with the company’s newly appointed executive director, whose name will be revealed in July, while continuing to support the 52-year-old company until his successor is in place.

A new artistic director will be announced next season following an extensive search, with Desrochers taking his final curtain call when his five-year contract officially expires on May 31, 2026.

“This is a pivotal moment in the evolution of Manitoba Opera,” MO board of trustees chairwoman Judith Chambers says in a press release.

“For 25 years Larry Desrochers has led with vision, creativity and a deep commitment to our community, helping to elevate the company’s standing as one of Canada’s leading opera companies.

“The new leadership model builds on the strong foundation Larry has established, and we are confident it will bring a reinvigorated focus, new ideas, and will position the company to grow and thrive in a changing arts landscape.”

Desrochers’s multifaceted 40-plus-year career has spanned opera, theatre and film as both artist and administrator. He’s served as associate artistic director for the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, was the founding executive producer of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and executive director of the Winnipeg Film Group.

Among the many feathers in his cap is producing and directing the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1999 Pan American Games, watched by a live stadium crowd of 30,000 and a televised audience of 1.93 million. For the games’ finale, he helped organize a reunion of legendary Winnipeg band the Guess Who — there’s that rock influence again — that also featured the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

His numerous awards and accolades include the University of Winnipeg’s Distinguished Alumni Award (2000), Opera America’s Distinguished Service Award (2010), Lifetime Honorary Membership from the Winnipeg Film Group (2011), and the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Making a Difference Award (2012).

His departure has already garnered fond words from colleagues: “A steady, generous and wise presence in the Canadian opera sector for over two decades” said Association for Opera in Canada (AOC) executive director Christina Loewen, while Opera America president and CEO Marc Scorca called him a “great colleague and cherished friend.”

Desrochers admits he only planned to lead the company for an initial five years after being invited in early 2000 to help brainstorm ways to help the then-struggling troupe — at that time under the umbrella of the RWB — which had a skeletal six-member board and ballooning deficit.

Under his watch, Manitoba Opera currently boasts a $2.9-million operating budget and a healthy subscriber base of 1,842, with the decades-old deficit retired in 2019.

His Midas touch has also been instrumental in raising money for a $10-million endowment fund that will help ensure the organization’s future in perpetuity.

“Even though I listened to opera when I was studying theatre in university, I didn’t really know the repertoire, or singers and their voice types and all that. That became a real challenge for me,” he says of the steep learning curve after he was appointed to his position in 2000.

“During those earliest years I just dug in as hard as I could, and saw as much opera as I could, travelling across Canada and throughout North America to build up my knowledge of the art form. I also learned how to manage the risks in keeping patrons engaged, which is particularly important in a two-show season.”

Asked for his personal highlights, he mentions children’s opera Jason and Hannah staged in 2008, Fidelio (2014) and the company’s inaugural commissioned opera, The Transit of Venus (2007), penned by Manitoba playwright Maureen Hunter and composer Victor Davies.

He also notes Susannah (2019), which saw award-winning composer/librettist Carlisle Floyd, who has since died, in the house opening night. Another is last season’s groundbreaking world première of Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North, featuring a libretto by Métis poet Suzanne Steele, and co-composed by Alex Kusturok and Neil Weisensel.

“Li Keur was significant for us because of Riel’s importance to Manitoba, as such a foundational piece of the province’s history. If this opera was going to be done anywhere in the country, it needed to be done here, so that’s why we worked so hard to make it happen,” he says of the first all-Indigenous led opera performed on a Canadian mainstage, a $1.1-million production that also led to Manitoba Opera becoming a signatory to the Winnipeg Indigenous Accord in 2024.

Desrochers is also rightfully proud of navigating — and surviving — the global pandemic, during which so many arts organizations around the world shuttered their doors forever.

Manitoba Opera pivoted to livestreamed performances, including the Sopranos of Winnipeg recital celebrating Manitoba’s treasure trove of internationally acclaimed vocal artists.

One of those is world-renowned colouratura soprano, Tracy Dahl, who marked her 1982 MO debut as Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze de Figaro, and has lit up its stage in 13 subsequent productions since then. She continues to serve as core faculty for the company’s hugely successful and nationally recognized Digital Emerging Artist Program, birthed during COVID-19, that nurtures the next generation of opera stars.

“It is difficult to put into words how important Larry has been to Manitoba Opera and to keeping opera alive and growing,” the Winnipeg-based singer and member of the Order of Canada says. “I am deeply grateful to Larry for his dedication to the art form I cherish, the humanity of those stories and the people who shared them.”

Dahl says the best gift Desrochers offered artists was assembling teams that allowed them to be creative in a safe space.

“Larry knew how to put a creative team together that would lift the music off the page, making rehearsals a whole lot of fun, and bringing audiences to their feet at the final curtain. He trusted us… and valued every one of the people who took part: chorus, crew, orchestra and artists. He took chances on young artists and jump-started their careers, and championed Canadian artists. He made us feel like a family.”

His intuitive leadership approach has forged a robust legacy of flourishing community education and outreach programs, with the company hosting an ongoing series of talks and panel discussions focused on such pertinent social issues as mental health and global strife as reflected in opera, making the centuries-old art form relevant for 21st century audiences.

When it comes to his next act, Desrochers says he’s keeping his options open.

“I don’t look back very much, but prefer to look forward, “ he says, adding that future plans might potentially include directing, teaching or continuing to serve in his various advocacy and advisory roles.

Opera buffs might even spot Desrochers and his writer/producer wife, Laurie Lam in the audience after next May — that early Elvis fan is now a diehard devotee of the “glory of opera.”

“Opera creates a transcendent experience, and there will always be a place for that,” he says about the future of the art form.

“While it’s always evolved and styles have changed, it creates an immensely human experience, which is why it’s so important to see it performed live, and especially in the 21st century. There’s nothing like being in the audience. You’re all laughing together. You’re all crying together, and the interaction between the performers, orchestra and audience becomes a powerful, enriching experience that touches people on such an incredibly deep level.”

holly.harris@shaw.ca