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Operas

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G.

Content warning: captivity, sex trafficking, sex work, sexual violence, violence, death

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. is a fictional dramatic opera built on extensive factual research. Set in Ukraine in 1997, it is the story of Oksana, a young woman lured into the world of sex trafficking by a Russian recruiter, Konstantin, who ...

Composer: Aaron Gervais

Librettist: Colleen Murphy

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G.

Silence

A not-so-pure Maiden is sent to marry a not-so-manly Lord, who is advised by a not-so-celibate Priest, and protected by a not-so-insensitive Thug in an England ruled by a King who won’t get out of bed. Based on the award winning play by Moira Buffini.

Composer: Leslie Uyeda

Filumena

Act One, Scene One
Autumn, 1915

In the park of a small town in the Crowsnest Pass, family and friends celebrate the wedding of Filumena Costanzo to Charlie Lassandro. As festivities proceed, Filumena seems withdrawn, stunned by her new husband’s brusqueness. Charlie has given her a new “Canadian” name, Florence, which she clearly rejects. ...

Composer: John Estacio

Librettist: John Murrell

Ours

Ours tracks the social, political, and emotional aftermath of the battle of Beaumont Hamel through the story of Thomas Nangle, who was chaplain to the Newfoundland Regiment.

Following the war, Nangle was named to the Imperial War Graves Commission where he led efforts to properly bury the remains of the lost Regiment across Europe. He establi...

Composer: John Estacio

Librettist: Robert Chafe

Sordes

Medieval abbess and intellectual Hildegard von Bingen walks into an all-gender washroom... To her horror, she encounters a friar who has left behind a mess.

Composer: Roydon Tse

Librettist: Christene Adina Browne

Inês

Content warning: blood, gun violence, murder

Pedro Carmona, a young surgeon and son of a prominent Portuguese general, has escaped military service in Angola in 1968 by fleeing to Toronto with his upper-class wife Constanza. In order to survive, he has taken two jobs while he retrains to qualify as a doctor. The opera begins as Constanza—sick...

Composer: James Rolfe

Librettist: Paul Bentley

COR

Excerpts

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 2, Scene 1

Brindisi refugee shelter: Father Alexander and social worker Clara work with the refugees. An injured Oksana arrives and asks for help; Lyubia, who escaped when the boat docked, is among the refugees and recognizes Oksana.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 2, Scene 3

Screaming, Oksana awakens from a nightmare; Father Alexander comes to her and she admits she may have let Natalyia drown to save herself. The Father counsels forgiveness of herself and others, but Oksana is not convinced that is possible.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 2, Scene 5

Father Alexander and Oksana realize they share an attraction for each other, but Oksana is determined to go home and tell her parents what has happened. Konstantin phones the refuge to get Oksana back.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 2, Scene 6

Refugees are trying on clothes, when Dima and Konstantin enter looking for Oksana. Konstantin offers Father Alexander money for Oksana and Clara calls the police; Konstantin and Dima leave before the police arrive.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 3, Scene 2

On the eve of Oksana's departure, Father Alexander has to go to pick up another woman in distress. He leaves his knife with Oksana because she is afraid Konstantin will show up. Lyuba and Oksana say their goodbyes.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 3, Scene 3

Father Alexander discovers the distress call was a set by Konstantin, but Dima decides he can't beat up a priest and lets Father Alexander go back to Brindisi where Konstantin is.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 3, Scene 4

Konstantin breaks into Oksana's room and tries to convince her to leave with him. When this fails, he tries to rape her again but she stabs him. He gets the knife and stabs her before he dies. Father Alexander returns and Oksana dies of her wound, dreaming of home.

The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 3, Scene 5

Sofiya and Yuri consult Asa when Oksana has not arrived as her lettered promised. They are interrupted by Pavlo with news that the priest from Italy is on the phone, and wants to talk to Oksana's parents.