Trapped and encased by an avalanche, a man thinks only of his wife and finding a way out. Meanwhile, his wife is filled with suspicion. She thinks he’s having an affair, and his silence is the proof. Between the two, Death sings of the ways it brings about disaster.
On a fateful school trip to the ruins of Pompeii, the fantasies of smitten teenagers Suzie and Cass are ignited. They are transported from 1977 to 79 AD, where they discover romantic freedom in the looming shadow of Mount Vesuvius – but not for long. The timeline shifts to 1981 and the Fly by Night, a Toronto lesbian bar, in the aftermath of the...
Content warning: contains depictions of gun violence, mentions of homophobia, transphobia, self-harm, attempted suicide, memory loss, illness, death, and violence
Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), more often known by her stage name "Mademoiselle Maupin," was a queer and gender non-conforming opera singer. She was a mezzo-soprano, and sang some of ...
The night before her birthday, an aging Queen Elizabeth I catches an intruder in her boudoir. It turns out to be none other than her arch-nemesis Grace O’Malley, Irish pirate and chieftain, come to reclaim her seized ship and her trampled rights. A comedic opera about power and politics, destiny and desire, and how hard it is to be a woman at th...
Just below the summit of Mount Everest on the south summit ridge, Jackie and her partner Pasang are celebrating that she is the first woman to reach the summit without oxygen. Then something changes. Could it be Mother Everest punishing the climbers?
Facing South is inspired by the life story of American Arctic explorer, Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary, and his contested discovery of the North Pole in 1909. The opera takes place in the inner landscape of Peary’s mind during the last hours of his life in February 1920, as he lies dying of pernic...
The Hydrophis is a Deep Sea Submergence Vehicle (DSV) that takes scientists on extreme-depth expeditions to research and explore. During a recent expedition, a rare jellyfish, Stygiomedus Gigantea, has been captured on film. It is rarely seen but thought to be one of the largest invertebrate predator...
A historical reenactment: Prime Minister Stephen Harper sets off to the Arctic to claim dominion over a particular ice floe. Mr. Valernikov, a Russian seal, mistakes Harper for a full-figured female seal and propositions him. After sorting out the misunderstanding, Valernikov claims Harper is in Russian waters. Harper, chagrined, tries to make h...
Westerner Jackie and sherpa Pasang summit Everest without using oxygen cannisters. Soon their victory turns into a culture clash as they argue about their affair and the mountain, and slowly die of hypoxia.
Irish pirate Chieftain Grace O'Malley sneaks into the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and convinces the Queen to give her back her ship and free her lover. In return Grace will attend the Queen's birthday celebration and cause a sensation - which delights Liz.