One of Toronto's newest opera companies has a unique twist.

Not only does it take requests, but the people making the requests star in the production as well. Opera by Request, as it's called, will next produce Gluck's Orfeo ed Eurydice at the Heliconian Hall on Saturday, July 5, 8 p.m.

It's actually one of the company's smaller productions with just a cast of three - Anna Belikova as Orfeo; Lindsay Michael as Eurydice; and Lisa Zhang as Amor.

While it may be "opera by request" the operas are serious productions, said Bill Shookhoff, Opera by Request founder and director.

Typical clients, he said, are "young professionals in the development phases of a career."

"I would say everybody who has done a lead role has at least earned something as a singer in the professional world. Very few of them are making a living at it because that's very hard to do in this country."

Auditions may be required and the preparation time is a minimum three months.

"What usually happens is somebody will come to me with a project in mind," Shookhoff said.

What they also have to provide are "a few like-minded singers," although Shookhoff can certainly help fill in a cast member or two in a pinch.

Opera by Request has upcoming productions over the next two Saturdays, both starting at 7:30 p.m. at College Street United Church, 454 College St. W.

Tsu-Ching Yu was the driving force for one of the company's late spring productions of Don Pasquale for which she played the role of Noreen. By day, the 30-year-old resident of the Dupont Street and Ossington Avenue area works in IT, having earned a computer science degree at the University of Toronto in the Annex. "I'm a quality assurance analyst for software testing."

Music, however, continues to be an abiding passion, and she has been taking voice lessons since high school.

"I'm hoping to make a career out of it someday," she said.

Shookhoff, who lives in the Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue area, teaches out of the North Toronto Institute for Music in the Eglinton and Bayview avenues area. He recently celebrated his 60th birthday.

"I think I'm at the stage in life where I can start giving something back. I've worked with most of the professional organizations around Toronto and a number abroad as well.

"If I can do something to help others' careers ... I mean there were people in my life when I was younger who took that interest in me. I think maybe it's time to give something back."

His opera company has been around for just over a year.

"My first production was Carmen in March 2007 and I really had no idea if this was going to be a whim of mine. But it actually caught on very strongly."

The July production, he said, will bring the production grand total to 10. Past performances include Werther by Jules Massenet, Rigoletto by Verdi, Marriage of Figaro by Mozart and Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck.

"Other than the COC (Canadian Opera Company) no one has done more operas in a year than I do.

"And I don't initiate any of them. People want to learn roles and perform them and this is really the only way to do it."

The sophistication of the productions can range. The larger productions get into double digits in terms of cast members, complete with backing choral sections.

The venue is negotiable. Thus far, performers have all arranged their own venue, but Shookhoff said the North Toronto Institute for Music's 50-seat performance hall is also available.

"If you check into past performances you'll see that we've travelled around a bit but it's been a very central (Toronto) location - Heliconian Hall or some of the churches in the Yonge/St.Clair area. College Street United is tending to be a favourite."

The audience numbers can vary. Bad weather this winter for one particular production reduced the audience to about 50. Another production easily surpassed 200.

With huge turnouts, the production can actually make a tiny profit for the performers, but most break even or lose a little, he said.

As one would expect, a large part of the audience are inevitably friends, family or peers of the performers. But Shookhoff said the productions are also now attracting an increasing base of fans in their own right with no attachment to the performers.

"I have a mailing list of about 50 people."

At this time, the productions are backed, musically, by a lone piano played by Shookhoff, although he's looking to find a way "to produce some of these operas with orchestra but that's probably a year down the road."

Money is obviously the major obstacle, he said.

The standard price charged to the public, he said, is $20 adults, $15 for students and seniors.

Visit www.operabyrequest.ca for details.