Operanation 8: A Muse Ball is happening Friday, October 21, 2011. This year the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio fundraiser has chosen "the Muse" as it's theme, and has created a teaser website called The Daily Muse which features notable designers, industry insiders, film and media notables, and members of the Canadian Opera Company talking about their Muses and personal inspiration. Operanation will showcase Canadian fashion designs and custom made garments from Calla (by Calla Haynes), Joeffer Caoc, Greta Constantine (by Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong), Arthur Mendonça and Ashley Rowe. These designers have created garments that reflect the personal muses of the design house, presented in the form of a fashion installation curated by RAC Boutique, with shoes provided by Holt Renfrew.

Now that fashion has been covered, let's get to the music. Rufus Wainwright will be headlining the evening and there will be a special performance by Austra in collaboration with soprano Ambur Braid and baritone Adrian Kramer, two rising opera stars from the COC’s Ensemble Studio. I love the mix of popular and opera.

Tickets to this magical night of dancing, rousing live entertainment and specialty food and drink are $150 per person, and are on sale at operanation.ca or by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231.

Cecily Carver, the Social Media Guru at the COC has posted a series of behind the scenes photos from the poster shoot on the COC blog. Check out my gallery below for a selection of those photos. Cecily's original post can be seen on the Parlando blog.

All photos courtesy of the Canadian Opera Company - © Canadian Opera Company 2011