Michael Patrick Albano is an Associate Professor and the resident stage director of the opera training program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, where he has staged over fifty operas. His directorial work has also taken him to such companies as the Canadian Opera Company, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the New York City Opera and the Washington Opera. An accomplished librettist, Mr. Albano has written over twenty librettos and his interest in the development of new opera has led to a graduate course in operatic composition at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music as well as his involvement for twenty years as resident dramaturge for the Tapestry New Opera Works composer/librettist laboratory.