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Marion Newman
mezzo-soprano

A critically acclaimed mezzo-soprano of Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish, and Scottish heritage, Marion Newman was born in Bella Coola and grew up in Sooke, BC. She is one of Canada’s most accomplished singers in repertoire from Vivaldi to Vivier. As Carmen, the Irish Examiner noted “she sparked an electricity which totally engrossed the audience with her superbly sinuous sexuality... Prudes may raise their eyebrows at the sensuality of this Carmen; theatregoers will clamour for more.” Nominated for a Dora Award for her leading role in the world premiere of Shanawdithit (Nolan/Burry) with Toronto’s Tapestry Opera, Ian Ritchie wrote “she invests her character with towering dignity and courage."

Marion portrayed Dr. Wilson in the premiere of Missing (Clements/Current) with Vancouver City Opera/Pacific Opera Victoria, which gives voice, in English and Gitxsan, to the story of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. In 2023, Marion debuted with Anchorage Opera in their production of Missing.

Highlights for the 2022/23 season included Cantaloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with Vancouver Island Symphony, Messiah with Vancouver Bach Choir, Bruckner’s Te Deum, and the world premiere of Stephanie Martin’s Water with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Recent guest appearances include Mozart’s Requiem, a digital co-production with Canadian Opera Company and Against the Grain Theatre, The Echoes Project with Gryphon Trio, and Five Songs on Poems of Marilyn Dumont (Cusson) with the New Orford String Quartet for Cecilia Concerts in Halifax.

Marion has sung many works that speak to her First Nations identity, including a Canada-wide tour of Ancestral Voices (Tovey) with the Vancouver Symphony and Nuyamł-ił Kulhulmx - Singing the Earth (Höstman/Robinson) with the Victoria and Vancouver Symphonies and Continuum Concerts in Toronto.

Marion created the role of Dawn with Welsh National Opera in the 2022 world premiere of Migrations, with stories by five writers based on their personal experiences of migrations and working with refugees. Also with Welsh National Opera, Marion starred in the premiere of The Shoemaker, a fusion of Latin American, Persian, and Western classical musical influences, and performs in Migrations UK tour. 
 
In addition to her extensive performing career, Marion is a Co-Founder of Amplified Opera and the host of CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.

Marion Newman
mezzo-soprano

A critically acclaimed mezzo-soprano of Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish, and Scottish heritage, Marion Newman was born in Bella Coola and grew up in Sooke, BC. She is one of Canada’s most accomplished singers in repertoire from Vivaldi to Vivier. As Carmen, the Irish Examiner noted “she sparked an electricity which totally engrossed the audience with her superbly sinuous sexuality... Prudes may raise their eyebrows at the sensuality of this Carmen; theatregoers will clamour for more.” Nominated for a Dora Award for her leading role in the world premiere of Shanawdithit (Nolan/Burry) with Toronto’s Tapestry Opera, Ian Ritchie wrote “she invests her character with towering dignity and courage."

Marion portrayed Dr. Wilson in the premiere of Missing (Clements/Current) with Vancouver City Opera/Pacific Opera Victoria, which gives voice, in English and Gitxsan, to the story of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. In 2023, Marion debuted with Anchorage Opera in their production of Missing.

Highlights for the 2022/23 season included Cantaloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with Vancouver Island Symphony, Messiah with Vancouver Bach Choir, Bruckner’s Te Deum, and the world premiere of Stephanie Martin’s Water with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Recent guest appearances include Mozart’s Requiem, a digital co-production with Canadian Opera Company and Against the Grain Theatre, The Echoes Project with Gryphon Trio, and Five Songs on Poems of Marilyn Dumont (Cusson) with the New Orford String Quartet for Cecilia Concerts in Halifax.

Marion has sung many works that speak to her First Nations identity, including a Canada-wide tour of Ancestral Voices (Tovey) with the Vancouver Symphony and Nuyamł-ił Kulhulmx - Singing the Earth (Höstman/Robinson) with the Victoria and Vancouver Symphonies and Continuum Concerts in Toronto.

Marion created the role of Dawn with Welsh National Opera in the 2022 world premiere of Migrations, with stories by five writers based on their personal experiences of migrations and working with refugees. Also with Welsh National Opera, Marion starred in the premiere of The Shoemaker, a fusion of Latin American, Persian, and Western classical musical influences, and performs in Migrations UK tour. 
 
In addition to her extensive performing career, Marion is a Co-Founder of Amplified Opera and the host of CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.