OVERVIEW Title: Snow GlobeComposer: Ian CussonLibrettist: Colleen MurphyCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 6Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description SharonhighBb3-Bb5SisterMattmiddle-lowEb3-Gb4Brother Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano Video Recording View more videos below - click here SYNOPSIS A
OVERVIEW Title: Sleep, SleepComposer: John HarrisLibrettist: Marjorie ChanCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRoles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description MotherhighA3-C#6MotherBoymiddleG2-G4Son Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano SYNOPSIS A woman and her grown son are leaving their home. It’s time
Hope introduces the pilot to her family. He leaves, and Hope argues with her parents about going with him.
Hope grows up quickly, climbing out of her crib as a woman of twenty-one. She sings to herself, wanting to leave the house.
Thomas has brought Lise to become Hope’s tutor, but Hope has grown up and wants to leave the house. Lise warns her not to give her love away to just anyone.
Thomas and Lise sing of feeling the burning of two suns on their faces.
The pilot watches Hope from afar. They meet and become lovers.
Thomas and Claire meet at a party and fall in love.
OVERVIEW Title: ShelterComposer: Juliet PalmerLibrettist: Julie SalversonCommissioned By: Tapestry OperaLanguage: English, GermanProducer: Tapestry Opera and Edmonton OperaRun Time: 75Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Lisa Meitnermiddle-highG#-Ab5Nuclear physicistThomasmiddle-lowBb2-E5 (falsetto)FatherClairemiddle-highA3-G5 (extended techniques)MotherHopehighC4-C6 (coloratura)DaughterPilotmiddleD3-B4Air force pilot Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Clarinet in Bb/Bass
Waking early, Agnieska admires her new lover Sumana as she is sleeping. When Sumana wakes, the couple share an intimate conversation and eventually descend into fits of laughter.
Agnieska and Sumana share an intimate night together after meeting in a bar. Memories of past lovers almost make Agnieska give up on this new love, but Sumana convinces her to hold on to hope.
Waking early, Agnieska admires her new lover Sumana as she is sleeping.
Agnieska questions why all of her previous relationships have failed.
Excited by the possibility of a night with a new lover, Sumana anxiously expresses her anticipation.
OVERVIEW Title: She Sees Her LoverComposer: Craig GalbraithLibrettist: Leanna BrodieCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 17Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Sumanamiddle-highC4-G#5A young womanAgnieskahighC4-Bb5A young woman Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Bass Clarinet, Percussion, Vibraphone, Piano, Violin,
OVERVIEW Title: She is MeComposer: Lembit BeecherLibrettist: Katherine KollerCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRoles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description JannahighBb3-G5A womanGrandpamiddle-lowG2-A4Her grandpa Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano SYNOPSIS Content warning: fire, death Janna and her grandpa are
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: See SawComposer: Andrew StanilandLibrettist: Anna ChattertonCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 30Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description TrishhighBb3-Db6A young girl, heartbrokenGinamiddle-highF#3-A5Trish's friendRalphmiddleE3-Bb4Trish's ex-boyfriend, rides a bicycle Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Clarinet in Bb, Percussion,
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
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.
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.
Sydney on her first day at the zoo. Frightened and alone, she thinks of her homeland.
Sydney and James meet for the first time. Though both are nervous, they connect with each other.
Sydney and James arrive in Tennessee, remembering their 22 years together. They say goodbye.
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.
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
Paul is nearly overwhelmed by the noise, but manages. Oscar and Bassett place their bets on Daffodil. Bassett takes the role of a race announcer, and the three watch Paul’s prediction come true. The three sing of how this will change everything.
Ava bemoans Paul’s lack of understanding, and her need for luxury.
The last ride has left Paul gravely ill. Oscar and Bassett tell him they bet it all, and they’re set for life. Paul asks his mother if she’ll finally be happy- finally smile. She does, but as they leave his room to celebrate, Paul hears the house whisper. There must
The predictions keep coming true, and the money keeps coming. The money gets spent, and Paul keeps riding. All the while the house is getting filled with finery. But it keeps singing. There must be more, but Paul’s luck falters as his energy wanes.
Paul asks his mother why she always sings sad songs and if she knows anything happier. Ava rebukes him. She expresses profound regret for the stupidity and vanity of her youth. The world only smiles for the young, she says. Paul hopes she’ll smile for her birthday tomorrow, but she
Paul tells Oscar he hopes the winnings will stop the house from singing. Paul hears “her” sing of how there’s never enough, how there must be more. He makes Oscar promise not to tell his mother about where the money comes from; it might ruin the luck. Oscar tells him
Uncle Oscar enters, having heard the noise, and asks Paul what’s going on. Paul reveals his secret: the rocking horse is lucky, and tells him the names of race horses. Oscar calls in Paul’s caretaker, Bassett, who admits that Paul tells him the names of winning race horses. The three
Paul creeps upstairs and rides his rocking horse, asking it to take him to where luck is. He rides faster and faster and at the peak, shouts a name: Daffodil.
Paul is curious about why he and his mother don’t have a car, and Ava explains it’s because they’re poor. Paul again asks why that’s so, and Ava states it’s because his father has no luck. Paul announces that he is lucky.
A waltz is cut short. Ava discloses how far she’s fallen, and how difficult she finds caring for her son.
CAST: Asitha Tennekoon | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Peter McGillivray, Asitha Tennekoon, Keith KlassenCAST: Carla Huhtanen View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: Rocking Horse WinnerComposer: Gareth WilliamsLibrettist: Anna ChattertonCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera and Scottish OperaLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 75Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description AvahighA#3-Bb5Paul's
Peter is leaving Carla for another woman. Carla, sensing she will have a breakdown if he leaves, insists that he take their son to live with him.
OVERVIEW Title: RipComposer: Gareth WilliamsLibrettist: Anna ChattertonCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRoles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description CarlahighA3-C6Recently divorced from PeterPetermiddle-lowA2-A4Recently divorced from Carla Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano SYNOPSIS The piece opens in the middle of
OVERVIEW Title: PursuitComposer: Iman HabibiLibrettist: Jessica Murphy MooCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 4Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description BaristahighD4-C#6Female barista, clearly agitatedManmiddleB3-A4A man, customer at the cafe Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano Video Recording View
A female barista is infatuated with a male customer and stalks him. He thinks he recognizes her from his neighbourhood.
Tabitha helps her father Ken, who has had a stroke. She combs his hair and helps him with his therapy ball, retrieving it each time he drops it.
OVERVIEW Title: Playing BallComposer: Norbert PalejLibrettist: Marcia JohnsonCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 8Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description TabithahighC4-E5Long-estranged daughter of KenKenmiddleF4-A4Father of Tabitha Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano Video Recording View more videos below
A middle-aged couple’s romantic night: the Man, reading poetry to the Woman, is distracted by the need to hunt down a mosquito in the room.
OVERVIEW Title: Perfect NightComposer: Jana SkareckyLibrettist: Nick CarpenterCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRoles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description ManmiddleE3-A4Partner to womanWomanmiddle-highA3-G5Partner to man Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano, Organ SYNOPSIS A Woman and Man in bed. Naked.
Having escaped forced confinment in a basement, a girl approaches a stranger. She asks if the stranger knows her, as she tries to remember her past.
OVERVIEW Title: OublietteComposer: Ivan BarbotinLibrettist: Donna-Michelle St. BernardCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 4Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Lauramiddle-highC4-Ab5A newly escaped captive Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano Video Recording View more videos below - click
A couple argue: Keith is trying to interrupt Erica’s rant.
At a bar, Erica laments the men she chooses. Jackie looks for a rich man- and a rich man walks into the bar.
Jackie demands Alex say something, but Alex doesn’t. Erica paces.
Keith tells Erica he has taken a vow of chastity to become a priest, but Erica still tries to seduce him.
We hear Keith teaching a child to play violin. Alex listens happily while Jackie wishes she was still at work.
Erica is angry with Keith for having an anxiety attack as they host a party together.
Two couples on a resort patio watch and comment on each other.
OVERVIEW Title: Opposites AttractComposer: Iman HabibiLibrettist: Phoebe TsangCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRun Time: 8Roles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description Ericamiddle-highA3-Bb5Coupled with KeithJackiehighE4-G5Coupled with AlexKeithmiddleC#3-A4Coupled with EricaAlexmiddle-lowE3-C#4Coupled with Jackie Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano Part 1 Video
OVERVIEW Title: One Night, One BellComposer: Stephen Andrew TaylorLibrettist: Marjorie ChanCommissioned By: Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist LaboratoryLanguage: EnglishProducer: Tapestry OperaRoles: Role Voice Type Range ? Character Description WomanhighB3-C6Works as a bell-ringerManmiddle-lowBb2-A4A man, identity unknown Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.Orchestration: Piano SYNOPSIS In a country
A man coerces a woman to have sex with him in exchange for saving the one remaining temple bell from being melted down for the war metal supply.
A woman makes an appeal that the metal of her bell shouldn’t be used for a war machine.
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.
Dima has found Oksana at the refuge, and shows Konstantin a photograph of her as proof.
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.
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.
Pavlo reads Oksana’s letter to her parents telling them she’ll be home on November 8, her birthday. They are thrilled, and get carried away planning a party for her.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pavlo checks in with Sofyia and Yuri for news; Sofiya and Yuri argue & blame each other for letting Oksana go.
On the Albanian coast the women captives wait for the boat to Italy. Oksana is still defiant, trying to figure out an escape for herself and others. The boat and Konstantin arrive, and Oksana fails to convince him to free her and Natalyia.
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.
Asa and Sofiya are checking the cards. Pavlo arrives with the news that a priest called from Italy to say that Oksana is alive, but there is no sign of Natalyia.
Sofiya and Yuri take their infant daughter Oksana to have her horoscope read by Asa, who predicts that “freedom invades her future.”
Though others are at first suspicious, Russian Konstantin convinces Ukranian teenagers Nataliya and Oksana to come work for him at a hotel in Romania for the summer.
In a forest in Romania, Oksana discovers she has been tricked and is now in danger. Konstantin and his partners rape Oksana & Natalyia.
Sofiya goes to Asa to have her cards read for news of Oksana. The police will not treat Oksana’s disappearance as crime, as she went with the men willingly. The cards say Oksana has been robbed of her soul.
In Greece at a bar, three women are held captive: Konstantin sends Lyubia with a businessman, Natalyia with the Immigration officer who cuts her, and Oksana is bought by Konstantin at auction. Konstantin then offers to the crowd a gang rape just as the police arrive to raid the bar.
CAST: Natalya Gennadi, Jacqueline Woodley | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Keith Klassen, Natalya Gennadi | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia KatzCAST: Natalya Gennadi, Adam Fisher, Andrea Ludwig, Chorus | PHOTO CREDIT: Dahlia Katz View more photos below - click here OVERVIEW Title: The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G.Composer: Aaron GervaisLibrettist: Colleen
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 bed, Rafique and Noor separately wonder how to get out of their situation.
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.
Jaan, who is dying, asks her sister Noor to secretely take her place on her wedding day. Noor reluctantly agrees.
The wedding ceremony. Noor hesitates, then marries Rafique.
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
Sophie, the manifestation of Ray’s soul sings an extended aria explaining how she has been locked away from Ray since he was a child.
Ray and Sophie sing an intimate duet as they reconnect and reconcile.
Ray frantically tries to calm himself by reciting scientific jargon, while a being claiming to be his own child self tries to open the door.
Sophie, the manifestation of Ray’s soul sings an extended aria explaining how she has been locked away from Ray since he was a child.
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