In addition to Heppner, the concert will feature sopranos Adrianne Pieczonka and Aline Kutan, mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, baritone Brett Polegato, bass-baritone Gerald Finley, and bass Robert Pomakov. COC director Richard Bradshaw will lead the COC Orchestra and Chorus.

The program includes excerpts from operas by Wagner, Weber, Rossini, Mozart, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Delibes, Bellini and others.

The opening celebrations for the hall began with a ribbon-cutting on June 11. Following tonight's gala, there will be concerts on June 16 and 17, as well as open houses for subscribers (June 17-18), students (June 23) and the public (June 24-25).

In September, the COC will present its first fully staged productions in the hall, performing three complete cycles of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungs.

The 2,000-seat, horseshoe-shaped Four Seasons Centre was designed by Toronto's Diamond and Schmitt Architects. It cost approximately C$181 million.