Opera Atelier and Aga Khan Museum Present HIGHLIGHTS FROM ARMIDE Exhibition This Month

Toronto, ON -- Opera Atelier and the Aga Khan Museum are proud to partner in presenting an intimate exhibition of elements from Opera Atelier's internationally lauded production of Armide. Running from September 8 to 27, the exhibit showcases the stunning designs of Canadian artist Gerard Gauci, including set designs and models based on Persian miniatures and the title character's costume.

"We are thrilled to partner with this exciting new Toronto cultural institution to share audiences who are interested in representations of the Muslim world in art," say Opera Atelier Co-Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg.

Henry Kim, Director and CEO of the Aga Khan Museum, notes, "At the Aga Khan Museum, we're committed to showing how the performing arts and visual arts are intimately connected. This partnership is an excellent way to fulfill that aim -- and to support the innovative work of Opera Atelier."

Opera Atelier's 30th Anniversary Season begins with a magical production of Jean-Baptiste Lully's Armide, the supreme operatic masterpiece of the 17th century. The Muslim and Christian worlds collide in Armide, an opera in which the invincible Christian knight Renaud and the Muslim warrior princess Armide play out their doomed love affair against a backdrop of hopeless obsession, jealousy and magic.

Armide runs at the Elgin Theatre in downtown Toronto, October 22 to 31. Tickets for Armide start at $35 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-622-ARTS(2787) or www.ticketmaster.ca, or at the Elgin Theatre Box Office (189 Yonge Street). Following its Toronto run, the production tours to the magnificent Royal Opera in Versailles, France to participate in the events commemorating 300 years since the reign of Palace creator King Louis XIV. Visit operaatelier.com for more information.

In showing elements from Armide, the Aga Khan Museum continues a conversation started by A Thirst for Riches: Carpets from the East in Paintings from the West, an exhibition pairing 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings with Eastern carpets from the same period. This exhibition runs until October 18, 2015. The Museum launches its 2015-16 Performing Arts season on September 26 with an Arab Jazz series: trumpeter Amir ElSaffar brings his Two Rivers Ensemble to Toronto with a concert that explores the juncture between jazz and the Middle East. For tickets and more information about exhibitions and programs, visit agakhanmuseum.org.

Opera Atelier is North America's premier period opera/ballet company, producing the opera, ballet and drama of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. While drawing upon the aesthetics and ideals of the period, Opera Atelier goes beyond "reconstruction" and infuses each production with an inventive theatricality that resonates with modern audiences. Led by founding artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg since 1985, Opera Atelier has garnered acclaim for its performances at home as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada has been established and developed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The Museum's mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage.