OVERVIEW Title: Before the Last MeterComposer: Saman ShahiLibrettist: Isabella DawisCommissioned By: Atlanta OperaLanguage: EnglishProducer: Atlanta Opera (Remounted by Watershed Fesitval)Run Time: 12Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description AthletehighC4-C6Paralympic athlete visiting Atlanta to competeFormer Atlanta ResidentmiddleC3-G4Former Atlanta resident who was evicted due to Olympic construction Please Note: The table above
The combined spirits of Qu Yuan and Father return and ask the audience to release them from their servitude. That freedom granted, they ascend into the heavens triumphantly.
Xiao Lian performs the Qingming ceremony to honour the spirit of her departed father and mother. Love and fellowship combine in the running of a dragon boat race. Xiao Lian joins her friends and crosses into her future.
All hope is lost as the villagers return and collect Qu Yuan’s possessions. They take the scrolls containing his famous poetry to the Daoist temple, where they will be preserved forever. Xiao Lian returns to the present at the bedside of her dying father. With his encouragement and love, she
Years later, Qu Yuan has earned the honour and respect of the people in a little fishing village on the river Miluo. Xiao Lian and a local villager strike up a conversation with Qu Yuan, and it is soon revealed that The Kingdom of Chu has been destroyed by its
Qu Yuan wanders into the southern wilderness. As he travels, he composes a lament for himself and his lost position in court. In the present, Xiao Lian’s Father senses his end is near. Summoning up his strength, he joins with the spirit of Qu Yuan to tell the final chapter.
Xiao Lian is transported back to the ancient royal court, where she witnesses the majestic entrance of King Huai of Chu. Qu Yuan is at the peak of his power but is soon outfoxed by rival minister Zhang Yi. Qu Yuan is cast down and banished by his beloved king.
Xiao Lian vows to look to the past and summons the great spirit of Qu Yuan. His spirit rises and assumes the form of Xiao Lian’s father.
A young Chinese/Canadian woman (Xiao Lian) faces a difficult choice: Honour her family’s traditional past or embrace a more modern future. Her father dwells on the memory of his deceased wife and honours her by performing the Qingming funeral tradition. Meanwhile, Xiao Lian’s two friends want her to get out
Xiao Lian’s father bitterly reveals that he will die soon. Xiao Lian’s mother appears in spirit form and asks her to forgive her father. She speaks of their happiness together as a family in earlier times. As a child, Xiao Lian had a close connection with the Dragon Boat Festival,
CAST: Todd Jang and Alicia Ault | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Mike Fan, Mishael Eusebio, Grace Lee, Alicia Ault, Alyssa Nicole Samson, Keith Lam | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Evanna Lai | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia Katz View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: Dragon’s TaleComposer: Ka Nin ChanLibrettist:
CAST: PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Suzanne Taffot | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Jorell WIlliams | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia Katz View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: Of the SeaComposer: Ian CussonLibrettist: Kanika AmbroseCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera and Obsidian TheatreLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry Opera and Obsidian TheatreRun Time: 90Roles: Role
Her health fading, Shanawdithit wonders if she’ll be welcomed into the spirit world after so much time with the colonists. Cormack tells her he must leave, and Shanawdithit gives him a sketch of his house to carry with him. He leaves the room to pack. Shanawdithit hears the spirits of
Cormack tries to raise funds for Shanawdithit’s care without success. James Simms offers to care for her while Cormack is away.
Shanawdithit describes the last days of her family as they were pushed from their land and then hunted. She asks Cormack not to speak of their death, but of their life. Cormack is ecstatic and gets lost in the memories Shanawdithit paints. She breaks his reverie with the cold fact
The taking of Demasduit weighs heavy on Shanawdithit’s heart. Cormack, unsure of what to do, tries to comfort her, saying Demasduit was treated well. Shawnadithit asks if white people actually care about her people, her story, because Cormack’s words are betrayed by the actions of his fellows, and indeed, his
Cormack’s study in St. John’s, now Shanawdithit’s room. “Nancy April” reveals she can speak English quite well, and tells Cormack her real name: Shanawdithit. Cormack asks her where the rest of her people are, where her home is. Shanawdithit says simply: they are no more. Shanawdithit reflects on the loss
Cormack meets Shanawdithit for the first time. She’s been working as a servant for Peyton for five years under the colonial name of Nancy April. Cormack is awed; he believes this woman is the last of the Beothuk. Peyton gives her to him, saying she’s useless.
Shanawdithit reprimands Cormack for his saviour complex.
Cormack presents his findings about Shanawdithit to the members of the Beothuk institute.
Shanawdithit, dying, speaks to her ancestors. She is ready to leave this world.
OVERVIEW Title: ShanawdithitComposer: Dean BurryLibrettist: Yvette NolanCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera and Opera on the AvalonLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry Opera and Opera on the AvalonRun Time: 80Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Shanawdithitmiddle-highA3-G5Beothuk woman, believed by the colonizers to be the last of her peopleWilliam Cormack middle-lowA2-F4An explorer and anthropologistKwe/Spirit Chorus
Sydney exits the train with James at the Sanctuary and sees her old friend Penny. They reunite lovingly. Sydney and James say their final goodbye.
Sydney and James arrive in Tennessee, remembering their 22 years together. They say goodbye.
Sydney and James meet for the first time. Though both are nervous, they connect with each other.
James and Sydney start their journey. Sydney remembers being young and playing in the forest with her friend Penny. One day, they are both captured, and the family herd is shot.
As he tries to get into the train car, James explains to Sydney the elephant why it is best for her to leave the zoo for a new home.
OVERVIEW Title: Sanctuary SongComposer: Abigail RichardsonLibrettist: Marjorie ChanCommissioned By: Theatre Direct Canada and Tapestry OperaLanguage: EnglishProducer: Theatre Direct Canada and Tapestry OperaRun Time: 45Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Jamesmiddle-lowA2-F4Sydney's keeper of 22 yearsSydneyhighDb4-Bb5An Asian elephant poached at a young ageActor/Moversilent-spokenspokenVarious rolesActor/Moversilent-spokenspokenVarious roles Please Note: The table above has
In bed, Rafique and Noor separately wonder how to get out of their situation.
Jaan meets group of tribal women in the desert who convince her to stay with them while she dies. Noor takes Jaan’s place in the circle.
Noor tells the lie Jaan asked of her to Rafique. Rafique sends her away and tries to figure out what he should do.
Jaan remains alive. The tribal women suggest she should write to Noor to know what has happen and ease her mind.
In a letter, Jaan asks if Noor still loves her.
Receiving Jaan’s letter, Noor forgives her sister. Noor and Rafique decide they will try to remain friends.
The wedding ceremony. Noor hesitates, then marries Rafique.
Jaan, who is dying, asks her sister Noor to secretely take her place on her wedding day. Noor reluctantly agrees.
OVERVIEW Title: Noor Over AfghanComposer: Christiaan VenterLibrettist: Anusree RoyCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 39Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description NoorhighC4-C6Afghani woman, sister to JaanJaanmiddle-highB3-F5Afghani woman, sister to NoorRafiquemiddleD3-B4Jaan's husband-to-bePriestmiddle-lowG2-Eb4A PriestChorushighSSAChorus Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano
The 1947 Partition of India forces two children to say goodbye. One departs for Pakistan, leaving her pet rabbit and childhood treasures with her friend.
OVERVIEW Title: Naila and LoloComposer: Elisabeth Mehl GreeneLibrettist: Anusree RoyCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Opera on Tap DC MetroRun Time: 4Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description NailahighF4-Ab5A young girlLolomiddle-highF3-G4Her best friend Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano SYNOPSIS Partition
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.
OVERVIEW Title: Mother EverestComposer: Abigail RichardsonLibrettist: Marjorie ChanCommissioned By: Tapestry OperaLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 17Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Jackiemiddle-highAb3-G5A womanPasangmiddle-lowA2-F#4Her sherpa Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Clarinet in Bb, Percussion, Piano, Violin, Cello SYNOPSIS Content warning: death Just
Manli and Lai Gwan decided to make a life together in Canada. As they collect and bury the bones of Chinese workers they remember all the dead, including Ama and Nichol.
Whites celebrate the finishing of the railway and officially dismiss the Chinese, who blame Manli for abandoning them.
Workers watch the train come to Eagle Pass – while the whites are happy, the Chinese realize there is no more work for them.
In the explosion rubble, Lai Gwan and Nichol declare their love depsite Ama’s warnings. Nichol dies as the workers rescue Lai Gwan and Manli, who declares his renewed love for his daughter.
As Manli and Lai Gwan argue about their situation, Lai Gwan tells of Ama’s death, which crushes Manli. He decides to set the next explosive charge himself. Nichol and Lai Gwan recognise their love and follow Manli into the tunnel.
Lai Gwan dreams of the conflicting desires of her mother, father, Nichol and herself.
The Chinese workers decide to strike, led by Lai Gwan, after another death with no proper funeral. The strike is put down and Nichol stops Lai Gwan from being hung by Manli. She discovers Manli is her father.
While she is bathing in a stream, Nichol disovers Lai Gwan is a woman – she asks for his help to find her father and to keep her secret. Manli interrupts them before Nichol decides what to do.
The Chinese workers are led in and a disguised Lai Gwan challenges Manli the Bookman’s authority. He seeks revenge by assigning Lai Gwan to the most dangerous work in the camp: planting dynamite on the mountain face while suspended in a basket.
In Ottawa, Canadian politicians and moguls toast the launch of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The Railway Foreman James Nichol encourages the workers until the impenetrable Rocky Mountains block their way. The Bookman comes to supply the cheap Chinese labour that will allow Nichol to conquer “The Great Divide.”
Aboard a ship taking Chinese workers to British Columbia – they are hungry & thirsty. Ah Lum starts a fight with Lai Gwan, who is disguised as a young man, but they stop as the coast comes into view.
Before dying, Ama tells Lai Gwan of her father, gives her a wedding dress, and urges her to go to North America to find her father – but always remember Chinese traditions.
Lai Gwan compares her love for Nichol with the pull of the cool mountain water.
Lai Gwan compares her love for Nichol with the pull of the cool mountain water.
Lai Gwan compares her love for Nichol with the pull of the cool mountain water.
Lai Gwan compares her love for Nichol with the pull of the cool mountain water.
Filled with regret over his life, Manli sings of an abandoned love.
CAST: Zhu Ge Zeng and Chorus | PHOTO CREDIT: Cylla von TiedemanCAST: Zhu Ge Zeng and Zheng Zhou | PHOTO CREDIT: Michael CooperCAST: Zhu Ge Zeng and Grace Chan | PHOTO CREDIT: Cylla von Tiedeman View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: Iron RoadComposer: Ka Nin ChanLibrettist: Mark
Lucifer rebuilds the cage, then tries to convince the audience to join him in self-exile.
Lucifer is enraged at the unfairness put upon him. The Child sees, and has an idea. Perhaps the system should be broken. When Lucifer realizes the Child has seen his truth, he tries to hide his emotions.
An interrogator turns his lurid eyes on an imprisoned female activist. Purposefully misunderstanding her movements as seduction, he convinces himself of something horrid.
Lucifer taunts the Child in a cell. She doesn’t understand what she’s done wrong.
A cleric prepares for confessional. Someone enters the booth. The cleric realizes it’s a man with whom he shared a mutual attraction. The man has recently finished gay conversion therapy and wishes to resume some kind of a relationship.
The Child is bored. She reads several books in an effort to learn all the things she shouldn’t do, say, feel, or see. Lucifer simply asks her why, attempting to get her attention on him instead of books. She finds a name, Iblis, and taunts him.
A book pleads with the audience to be read. A rhythmic chorus rises. A tribute to the banned, the burned, and the hidden.
As Lucifer tries again to get the Child to go with him, the Child finds out who Lucifer is in one of the books of the cell.
The Child is allowed out of her cage, with a warning she can have anyting she wants except for one thing. She asks what it might be, and in a Kafka-esque reply they say, “you know.”
Lucifer jangles an entrancing key in front of the Child and a young boy. This key promises to open the gates of heaven, but the boy has his own doubts about that. Nevertheless, he zips up his vest…
The Child questions Lucifer’s role as tempter, while he tempts with growing intensity. He chastises the Child for bowing to authority. She erupts in anger, pushing the books aside and leaving the cage.
A distraught woman is trying to report her sexual assault to a policeman. She admits she’s had some alcohol. Instead of pursuing justice, the policeman arrests her for illegal possession of alcohol. The Child witnesses all of it.
The Child is led back to the book cage, and performers take their places.
A watcher looks over a group of faithful. His irritation turns to hatred as he accuses them of subversion. He claims to have proof hidden in some papers, but the Child has destroyed them. The Child proclaims “I know what to do,” and the tension between authority and people escalates.
The Child creates her own book from pages of other books. She hands out her new rules to the audience.
The Child is taught a lesson. She attempted to speak her truth, but was met with discipline.
CAST: Alexander Hajek, Saye Skye | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Neema Bickersteth | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Shirin Eskandani | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia Katz View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: TAP:EX ForbiddenComposer: Afarin MansouriLibrettist: Donna-Michelle St. BernardCommissioned By: Tapestry OperaLanguage: English, FarsiProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 56Roles: Role
Peary and Henson believe they have reached the North pole.
Henson helps Minik reach the land of the dead; Peary and Josephine argue about Peary’s Inuit children.
Peary and Henson once again try to confirm they are at the North pole.
The explorers make a plan to bring the Inuit to America to make money.
Josephine asks for Henson’s help, despite Peary’s past bad treatment of him.
Peary is unsure if they have reached the North pole.
Two explorers close to the north pole – the explorer Peary becomes confused.
CAST: James Martin & Sung Taek ChungCAST: Sung Taek ChungCAST: Jean Stilwell View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: Facing SouthComposer: Linda Catlin SmithLibrettist: Don HannahCommissioned By: Tapestry OperaLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 75Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description MinikmiddleD3-A4The youngest InukPearymiddle-lowBb2-F4American arctic explorerHensonlowEb2-E4Expeditioner and GuideJosephinemiddle-highF3-F5Peary's wife
English 
French