Queen of Puddings Music Theatre was founded in 1995 by musicians Dáirine Ní Mheadhra and John Hess. The company is Toronto based and is a recognized Canadian leader in the creation of original Canadian chamber opera/music theatre. The company’s aesthetic is a physical, singing theatre where the performer is the central force and the instrumentalists are integrated into the dramatic action.

Spectacular company successes include the world premieres of Beatrice Chancy (1999) and The Midnight Court (2005). Written by composer James Rolfe and librettist George Elliott Clarke, Beatrice Chancy is the first and only opera about Canadian slavery. This premiere was met with enormous critical and audience acclaim and launched the career of Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman. Touring engagements for the opera included Halifax (Eastern Front Theatre) and Edmonton (presented in a co-production between the Citadel Theatre and Edmonton Opera). The CBC TV film of the production was broadcast nationwide in 2001.

The Midnight Court Opera premiered at Harbourfront Centre Theatre in June 2005. Written by composer Ana Sokolovic with libretto adaptation by Paul Bentley, the sold-out production received spectacular critical reviews and was then invited to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London for three performances in June 2006, the first time for a new Canadian opera and company at this venue. In the 2005 year end critics’ picks, the production was chosen as one of the Top 10 shows of 2005 in all genres by The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star and Eye Weekly.

Queen of Puddings continues to tour internationally. Love Songs (music Ana Sokolovic, selected love poems), an opera for one female singer, premiered in March 2008 in Toronto and has since toured to Montreal, Vancouver, Ljubljana, Paris, the Holland Festival in Amsterdam and the International New Music Biennale in Zagreb where it was declared best production of the festival. In 2009, the company presented Inês (music James Rolfe, libretto Paul Bentley), an opera inspired by Portuguese Fado, and in 2010 Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour (music Pierre Klanac, Fuhong Shi, John Rea), a Chinese Mandarin, English and Medieval French language triptych which premiered to audience and critical acclaim and began touring in 2011.

In June 2011, the company premiered SVADBA – WEDDING by Ana Sokolovic to huge critical acclaim. This dazzling opera scored for six female singers, a cappella, and sung in Serbian, epitomized the company’s aesthetic of a physical singing theatre. SVADBA begins touring in 2012.

In development for February 2012, in association with Canadian Stage, is BECKETT: FECK IT!, a wildly provocative show that juxtaposes Samuel Beckett’s shorter plays with contemporary classical music from outstanding Irish composers inspired by his appreciation for the absurd.

And the Queen of Puddings’ name? Well ... Queen of Puddings is Dáirine’s favourite Irish dessert. For the recipe, read on!