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Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 to be honoured with Opera Canada's Nada Ristich Change Maker Award at the Ruby Awards Gala on Monday, November 3, 2025
The Opera Canada Ruby Awards, named in honour of Opera Canada’s founding editor Ruby Mercer, were first awarded in 2000. The Rubies were created to recognize and honour outstanding achievement and leadership in the realm of Canadian opera – both on stage and behind the scenes.
While they have been given in various categories over the years – in 2000, three were awarded: a Creative Artist Award, an Opera Builder Award, and an Opera Educator Award – these categories have become more permeable to allow the recognition of people who work in any area of the art form. The Rubies represent the highest honour in Canadian opera.
In 2022, a new category of Ruby Award was introduced. The Rubies’ Nada Ristich Change Maker Award celebrates innovative leadership and social impact in opera. The award recognizes an individual (or group of artists) who has made an outstanding cultural contribution to the community through their artistic practice, or to initiatives that create significant creative and social change in the field of opera in Canada.
We are delighted to congratulate Confluence Artistic Associate Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 as this year's Nada Ristich Change Maker Award recipient.
