About

"Mezzo-Soprano Marion Newman is like the reincarnation of Shanawdithit in the title role. Her voice is rich and off-sweet like fine coffee sweetened with honey liqueur making each note of her tale a gut punch."

Photo of Marion Newman in Shanawdithit by Dahlia Katz

Marion Newman Nege’ga

(she/her/hers)

Critically acclaimed and award-winning mezzo-soprano Marion Newman is Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish and Scottish heritage. Marion was born in Bella Coola and grew up in Sooke, BC, immersed in and embraced by her community and culture.

She is one of Canada’s most accomplished singers in repertoire ranging from Charpentier to Cusson and operatic roles, including Carmen and Rosina in The Barber of Seville.

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.”

(Continue reading Marion’s bio below.)

Photo of Marion by Tony Hauser

Bio continued…

Marion in Migrations photo courtesy of the Welsh National Opera

Marion portrayed Dr. Wilson in the premiere of Missing (Clements/Current) with Vancouver City Opera /Pacific Opera Victoria, which gives voice, in English and Gitxsanimaax, to the story of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. In March 2023 Marion reprised her role for her debut with Anchorage Opera.

Highlights for the 2022/23 season include Cantaloube’s Chants d’Auvergne and a new work by Jennifer Butler with Vancouver Island Symphony, Bruckner’s Te Deum and the world premiere of Stephanie Martin’s Water, with Grand Philharmonic Choir and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and continued development of Namwayut, an Indigenous-led - cooperative opera with the support of Calgary Opera.

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

Marion has performed several works written specifically for her, 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. Upcoming new works include the role of Mimi in Indians on Vacation, an operatic adaptation of the novel by Thomas King (Cusson/Vavrek) with Against the Grain Theatre.

Marion created the role of Dawn with the Welsh National Opera in the July 2022 world premiere of Migrations (Todd), with stories by six 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 she performed in Migrations Autumn 2022 UK tour.

Through commitment to authenticity, both in storytelling across the operatic canon and her approach to every role she inhabits, Marion has emerged as one of the most important artists working in Canada today. A driving force for truth and reconciliation within the context of classical music, she is helping lead colleagues and audiences through long overdue discussions about the very nature of what it means to call something “Canadian music”.

Marion in The Shoemaker photo courtesy of the Welsh National Opera

CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera

In her role as host of CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, Marion is bringing her talented and inspiring colleagues to the attention of listeners across Canada and beyond. In helping to bring about a better understanding of the immense and broad scope of talents this country holds, Marion hopes to build pride and lasting support for the arts. She firmly believes this is vital work that breathes fresh air into and brings new audiences to opera while also creating a better understanding that our National identity must include the voices of those traditionally undermined and unheard.

Activism & Amplified Opera

Confronting existing power structures at every turn, using every opportunity she can to elevate, empower, and promote new voices, particularly from Indigenous and other equity-seeking communities, Marion is sought as a leader, consultant and performer who demands accountability from herself and others at all times. As a co-founder of Amplified Opera, an organization committed to holding space within the opera community for artists from diverse backgrounds, and through her work serving on various boards and committees in the arts community, she can bring people together to strengthen their voices and help create new avenues for their talents.