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  • About COR
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    • FAQ – For Users
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    Canadian Opera Resource
    Canadian Opera Resource
    COR
    Operas
    Shanawdithit
    Content warning: colonial violence, colonialsm, death, illness

    1828, Notre Dame Bay, on the northeast shore of Newfoundland. William Cormack, an explorer and anthropologist, has recently created the Beothuk Institute: an organization designed to prevent the extinction of the original inhabitants of the island. After learning that a Beothuk wo...
    Composer: Dean Burry
    Librettist: Yvette Nolan

    Shanawdithit
    Shanawdithit
    Iron Road
    Content warning: racism, colonialism, violence, death

    In 1880’s China, Lai Gwan, a young impoverished woman, stands on the brink of momentous change. Her dying mother urges her to respect and honour the memory of her father, Manli, whose disappearance to the New World haunts them both.

    Armed with the hope that she will find her father aliv...
    Composer: Ka Nin Chan
    Librettist: Mark Brownell

    Iron Road
    The Waterfall (LIBLAB)
    Content warning: death, infanticide, murder

    A rumble of hooves. A family is fleeing, but the baby is slowing them down. The mother is forced to choose between her husband and her child. She chooses the husband and tries to get the baby to sleep before letting it go over a waterfall. At the last minute, the baby awakes, and the mother’s grief ...
    Composer: Norbert Palej
    Librettist: Maja Ardal

    The Waterfall (LIBLAB)
    The Waterfall (LIBLAB)
    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.
    Medusa’s Children
    Content warning: misgendering, mentions of sexual assault, and implied violence

    Chrysaor and Pegasus, children of the gorgon Medusa, have been living with their aunts Euryale and Stheno. They receive a message from their dead mother telling the story of her assault and murder by their father Poseidon. Rejecting his mother’s family, Chrysaor g...
    Composer: Colin McMahon
    Librettist: Charlie Petch

    Medusa’s Children
    Dragon’s Tale
    Content warning: death, suicide

    Dragon’s Tale is the story of a young Chinese-Canadian woman (Xiao Lian) and her ailing father, both living in Toronto. Xiao Lian wakes up in the ancient past and witnesses the last days of one of China’s greatest poets, Qu Yuan. In doing so, she begins to understand her father and herself as she returns to a c...
    Composer: Ka Nin Chan
    Librettist: Mark Brownell

    Dragon’s Tale
    La Maupin
    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 ...
    Composer: Colin McMahon
    Librettist: Camille Rogers

    La Maupin
    Rosa
    Content warning: death, sex work

    After the tragic death of her first child, a baby daughter, Isabelle has run away to another town in Spain to escape the grief, leaving her husband Hector with a double loss. They are a working-class couple. The scene opens with Isabelle expecting a client in a seedy bordello. Hector has found her. He entreats...
    Composer: James Rolfe
    Librettist: Camyar Chai

    Rosa
    Rosa
    R.U.R. A Torrent of Light
    The fictional tech company R.U.R., founded by couple Helena and Dom, dominates the A.I. software market and powers the now-ubiquitous androids that serve their human owners.

    As Dom becomes more focused on growing R.U.R’s profits, Helena’s creative research leads to an unexpected technological breakthrough that pits the couples’ visions square...
    Composer: Nicole Lizée
    Librettist: Nicolas Billon

    R.U.R. A Torrent of Light
    TAP:EX Metallurgy
    Punk and operatic virtuosity collide in Tapestry’s third installment of the Tapestry Explorations (TAP:EX) series. Metallurgy is a collaboration between Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk of F*cked Up, the Polaris Prize-winning punk provocateurs, and two of Canada’s most masterful and versatile opera singers, mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó and tenor ...
    Composers: Ivan Barbotin, Jonah Falco, Mike Haliechuk
    Librettist: David James Brock

    TAP:EX Metallurgy
    TAP:EX Metallurgy
    TAP:EX Metallurgy
    TAP:EX Metallurgy
    Of the Sea
    Content warning: descriptions of enslavement, violence, sexual violence, death

    A father will do anything to save his daughter. Of the Sea follows the story of Maduka, his daughter Binyelum, and fellow Africans thrown overboard during the Middle Passage who now populate mythical underwater kingdoms that span the ocean floor. Amidst the waves, ...
    Composer: Ian Cusson
    Librettist: Kanika Ambrose

    Of the Sea
    Ashes
    Content warning: murder

    Nighttime on a dock on a lake. Tea lights have been carefully arranged on the side of the dock to illuminate a path. Adele stands at the end of a dock holding an urn that contains her husband’s ashes. She takes the lid off the urn, and begins to sprinkle ashes on the water.

    Her son Theo joins her and asks what she’s...
    Composer: Iman Habibi
    Librettist: Charles Hayter

    Ashes
    Ashes
    The Handless Maiden: Scene 8 (Wash the Loss)
    Based on "The Handless Maiden," a mythic story found in cultures around the world, and a continuation of the events in Me and You (Madonna of the Wilderness).

    After seven years of wandering, the girl (now known as Madonna) has regained her hands through loving self-sacrifice. She’s returned to the cabin of her childhood, where her journey beg...
    Composer: Benton Roark
    Librettist: Katherine Koller

    The Handless Maiden: Scene 8 (Wash the Loss)
    The Handless Maiden: Scene 8 (Wash the Loss)
    She is Me
    Content warning: fire, death

    Janna and her grandpa are in Toronto’s distillery district. Before she has to leave, Janna asks him to tell the story of how he and Grandma met. Both were fighting a fire, and met as part of the bucket brigade. Janna proudly reminds him he saved everyone that night, but this isn’t true. Grandpa confesses that a wo...
    Composer: Lembit Beecher
    Librettist: Katherine Koller

    She is Me
    She Sees Her Lover
    Agnieska and Sumana share a night together after meeting in a bar. The night, however intimate, has vastly different meanings to each woman. While Sumana is brimming with the excitement of a first chance at love, Agnieska is haunted by memories of her romantic past.

    The next morning, Agnieska wakes early and admires her new lover Sumana as sh...
    Composer: Craig Galbraith
    Librettist: Leanna Brodie

    She Sees Her Lover
    She Sees Her Lover
    The Golden Boy
    The scene is divided into two sections: a tense argument between mother and child, and a tender aria for the mother as she finally reveals a painful truth to her son about the prolonged absence of his father.
    Composer: Darren J
    Librettist: Anusree Roy

    The Golden Boy
    The Golden Boy
    Tea at Three
    Late at night, Allie receives a visitation from her deceased best friend, Karen.
    Composer: Katya Pine
    Librettist: Sheldon Rosen

    Tea at Three
    Tea at Three
    Ice Cream
    Content warning: illness, memory loss

    A mother and son have dinner. The mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and her son has increasing difficulty coping with that fact.
    Composer: Benton Roark
    Librettist: Liza Balkan

    Ice Cream
    Ice Cream
    Molly’s Veil
    Content warning: illness, death

    Charlotte works to prepare a Thanksgiving meal while her sister Margaret, who is ill, rests. When Margaret drops some china, the sisters are forced to confront the fact that Margaret's illness is likely terminal, and they will soon be separated. They sing a heartfelt duet, vowing to say hello to a new closeness...
    Composer: Jana Skarecky
    Librettist: Sharon Bajer

    Molly’s Veil
    Blind Woman
    A blind dancer and the shadow of her former sight share a final dance.
    Composer: James Rolfe
    Librettist: David Yee

    Blind Woman
    Blind Woman
    The Last Lullaby
    Content warning: war, death, gun violence

    A young mother with her infant daughter is threatened by an armed military officer escorting prisoners. She wants to wait for her husband, but the officer tells her he is probably already dead. The woman sings a lament to her baby, then pleads with the officer to take her baby and raise her as his own.
    Composer: Jana Skarecky
    Librettist: Anusree Roy

    The Last Lullaby
    The Last Lullaby
    Dark Star Requiem
    Content warning: illness, death, HIV/AIDS

    Dark Star Requiem is a poetic chronicle of the 25 years (as of 2010) of HIV-AIDS, reflecting the many faces of the disease and those affected by the pandemic.
    Composer: Andrew Staniland
    Librettist: Jill Battson

    Dark Star Requiem
    Eshna
    Elvet is struck with grief over the death of his newborn child, not yet named.
    Composer: August Murphy-King
    Librettist: Kanika Ambrose

    Eshna
    Eshna
    Eva
    A son gets caught sleeping with his father's girlfriend, Eva. A three-way fight erupts, the son professing his love for Eva and vice versa, while the father warns they’ll betray each other soon enough. They leave, and the father grieves the loss of them both.
    Composer: Stephen Andrew Taylor
    Librettist: Anna Chatterton

    Eva
    Eva
    Sooner Than Later
    Content warning: gun violence, strong language, terminal illness, attempted assisted suicide

    A father and son argue in a dark alley.  The father, sick with a tumour "the size of a fig" in his brain, begs his son to end his life.  When the gun they're using fails and the son panics, the father offers comfort and encouragement in the form of a ...
    Composer: Cecilia Livingston
    Librettist: David Yee

    Sooner Than Later
    Sooner Than Later
    Facing South
    Content warning: illness, death, colonialism

    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...
    Composer: Linda Catlin Smith
    Librettist: Don Hannah

    Facing South
    Farewell Poo
    Charlie and Robert stand over a toilet examining Charlie's poo and reflecting on lost loved ones.
    Composer: Rene Orth
    Librettist: Daniel Solon

    Farewell Poo
    Farewell Poo
    Get Stuffed
    Get Stuffed is a comic opera about serious decisions, featuring vocalizing vegetables and a big helping of other opinionated edible characters, all competing to influence one child's daily diet. Written for 5 singing actors and 2 musicians, this opera is intended for family audiences and touring to schools with a focus on encouraging youth to ma...
    Composer: Richard Payne
    Librettist: Alexis Diamond

    Get Stuffed
    COR
    Excerpts
    Sooner Than Later – Close your eyes, son
    A father comforts his son as he encourages him to end his life, rather than waiting for him to die of a terminal illness.
    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 6

    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 enemies. After learning this news, Qu Yuan’s heart breaks, and he drowns...

    Tea at Three – Tea at Three

    Late at night, Allie receives a visitation from her deceased best friend, Karen.

    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 5

    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.

    The Golden Boy – The Golden Boy

    After a painful argument, a mother tells her son the truth of his father's absence and tries to comfort him.

    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 2

    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, known as Duanwu and its hero, the ancient poet Qu Y...

    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 1

    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 and be more social. Her ...

    Shanawdithit – Scene 4

    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 own. Cormack insists he will ensu...

    The Handless Maiden: Scene 8 (Wash the Loss) – Wash the Loss Away

    A Gardener, lost in the wilderness, ends up at Madonna's cabin. She recognizes him as the man in her dreams and vows to heal him of his grief.

    La Maupin – VI. The Last Love

    Maupin remembers her romance with the Countess de Florensac.

    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 7

    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 finally recognizes the value of honourin...

    Pegasus’s Aria

    Pegasus recounts a dream in which their mother Medusa asks them to find her severed head. They reflect on the harrowing circumstances of their birth and their relationship with their brother Chrysaor and father Poseidon.

    Medusa’s Aria

    Medusa sings from beyond the grave, reaching out to her children and her two sisters. She tells the story of her rape by the god Poseidon and murder by the hero Perseus. 

    She is Me – She is Me

    Janna and her grandpa are in Toronto’s distillery district. Before she has to leave, Janna asks him to tell the story of how he and Grandma met.

    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 9

    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.

    Dragon’s Tale – Dragon’s Tale – Scene 8

    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.

    TAP:EX Metallurgy – Metallurgy A – third movement

    The couple continues to mourn.

    Ashes – Ashes

    A nighttime confrontation between a mother and son. The son accuses her of having an affair with his uncle, and killing his father. He’s found a doctor in Chinatown who will be able to prove his father was poisoned. The mother claims she did it to end his pain.

    Blind Woman – The Blind Woman

    A blind dancer and the shadow of her former sight share a final dance.

    Eshna – Eshna

    Elvet is struck with grief over the death of his newborn child, not yet named.

    Eva – Eva

    A son gets caught sleeping with his father's girlfriend, Eva. A three-way fight erupts, the son professing his love for Eva and vice versa, while the father warns they’ll betray each other soon enough. They leave, and the father grieves the loss of them both.

    Facing South – Scene 5: “Undersea” (aria)

    Minik remembers Greenland.

    Facing South – Scene 10: “Sea Anemone” (aria)

    Josephine wonders what discovery is worth.

    Farewell Poo – Farewell Poo

    Robert helps Charlie, who is sick, check his stool and be calm in the face of death.

    Get Stuffed – Scene 10

    Zach's hunger-hallucination, Part 6: Apple expires in true operatic fashion in Zach's arms. Zach grieves.

    Ice Cream – Ice Cream

    A mother and son have dinner. The mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and her son has increasing difficulty coping with that fact.

    Iron Road – Act 2, Scene 1: The Fight

    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.

    Iron Road – Act 2, Scene 2: The Cave

    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.

    Iron Road – Act 2, Scene 5: Remember the Dead

    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.

    TAP:EX Metallurgy – Metallurgy A – second movement

    A couple is trying to come to terms with the loss of their daughter. They grieve, and fight with one another.

    She Sees Her Lover – Scene 2

    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.

    TAP:EX Metallurgy – Metallurgy A – final movement

    Duet between the woman and a violin, symbolizing her daughter.

    The Enslavement and Liberation of Oksana G. – Act 1, Scene 5

    Pavlo checks in with Sofyia and Yuri for news; Sofiya and Yuri argue & blame each other for letting Oksana go.

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

    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.

    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 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.

    Rosa – “Every day I blistered my hands…” (duet)

    Hector and Isabelle express their resentment towards each other for the sacrifices they each made.

    Shanawdithit – Scene 2

    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 of her people and the taking of her a...

    Shanawdithit – Scene 5: Salmon, Seal, Caribou

    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 that the life she speaks of will never happen again. She colla...

    Shanawdithit – Scene 7

    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 her people calling her name. It is time. One spirit in par...

    She Sees Her Lover – “So many ways” (aria)

    Agnieska questions why all of her previous relationships have failed.

    She Sees Her Lover – “Cinnamon Limbs” (aria)

    Waking early, Agnieska admires her new lover Sumana as she is sleeping.

    She Sees Her Lover – Scene 1 (duet)

    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.

    COR

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