Elsewhereless moves back and forth in time over the course of ten years. Over these ten years - represented in twelve scenes - five characters are observed as they learn a language, fall in love, create elaborate fantasies and witness a country fall apart in an orgy of genocide and massacre. This is a story about colonialism and self-determination - in relationships, states and states of mind.

I couldn’t think of a more thrilling proposition. While music had always played a huge role in my films, when I was offered the chance to write a libretto and direct a chamber opera for Tapestry Music in the mid-90s I was excited to explore this format. I had been exposed to opera through Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, having played the doctor in a university production of the play by Georg Büchner (called Woyzeck). I came to realize that many of my favourite operas were based on plays, including Richard Strauss’ Salome (based on a play by Oscar Wilde), so when the brilliant composer Rodney Sharman and I began to explore ideas for a collaboration, we settled on a play I had written for Tarragon Theatre many years before.

It was an ambitious plan, since the play moved back and forth through time over several scenes. The subject matter was also very challenging, dealing with a history of genocide and diplomacy in an unnamed African country. When I had written the play in the eighties, the country was imaginary, but when Elsewhereless was presented in 1998 it became obvious that it would be interpreted through the prism of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. In our production design, we even used images from Rwanda, as well as video war footage from that humanitarian catastrophe.

In the end, I’m not sure if a contemporary opera was the right way to deal with urgent political issues, especially when the libretto was as formally adventurous as the one we were working with. I’ve come to understand that librettos should be as accessible as possible, especially when they are set to new and challenging musical language. We were blessed with having over thirty presentations of Elsewhereless in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver, and we were able to add more detail and contour as we went along. It even received a positive review from Le Monde, and we were so honoured that a journalist had travelled all the way from Paris to see the production.

I was so thankful for the support I received from Tapestry Opera throughout the process, and working with Rodney Sharman – we had collaborated on a vocal piece called "Phantom Screen" many years before – was such a pleasure. We are currently working on another opera together, and of course I’ve since directed several other operas since, with a new production of Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice in the near future. But my experience with Elsewhereless was my formative contact with this extraordinary art form, and I’m grateful for the opportunity I had in presenting this work.

-Atom Egoyan