Le vieux Merk sent son âge. Il va bientôt mourir. Il essaie de préparer Pauline, sa fille adulte handicapée mentale, à l'inévitable. De quoi, le cas échéant, se souviendra-t-elle de lui ? De la maison qu'ils partagent ? De leur vie commune ? Se souviendra-t-elle de l'amour de son père ? Se souviendra-t-elle de l'étreinte de la maison ? Est-ce qu'elle comprendra...
We open on an Alzheimer’s hallucination. Martha, a woman in her seventies, sees a surreal and exaggerated world in which strangers torment her and weather invades her kitchen. Martha remains in the grips of her hallucination until the presence of Martha’s daughter, Winnie, rips her out of it. Suddenly, shockingly, Martha is back in the Alzheimer...
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...
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 ...
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...
Avertissement de contenu: violence coloniale, colonialisme, mort, maladie
1828, baie Notre Dame, sur la côte nord-est de Terre-Neuve. William Cormack, explorateur et anthropologue, a récemment créé le Beothuk Institute : un organisme destiné à prévenir l'extinction des premiers habitants de l'île. Après avoir appris qu'un Béothuk...
Rocking Horse Winner primarily explores the relationship between Paul, a young adult, and his emotionally distant mother, Ava.
Paul is driven to bridge the relationship with his mother, but Ava sees Paul’s attempts to engage as fussy and considers motherhood an obligation. She remains distant, trapped in a m...
An estranged father and daughter re-establish their relationship after he has suffered a stroke and can no longer speak. He tries to convey to her that he loves her and is sorry for the harm he caused her. She is still too hurt from their past to see what he is trying to say. Instead, she passes the time by reading a book. He finds another way o...
Noor Over Afghan is set in Afghanistan, and tells the story of two young Afghani sisters, Noor and Jaan. But Jaan is dying, and begs Noor to take her place in the marriage and have her child. By the time the groom finds out, Jaan will have died. They swap places, Noor disguised by the veil.
The interior of a thumping, vibrating gay nightclub with obligatory disco ball and coloured strobe lights. A middle-aged gentleman is sitting at the bar, back to the audience, lost in his thoughts and seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. The truth is he isn't used to going to clubs, or hasn't since th...
Avertissement de contenu : maladie en phase terminale
This is not a biographical opera, it is an exploration of an emotional journey. At age 5, Jacqueline has instant chemistry and sparks fly when she meets her cello. Their relationship grows stronger and closer, and Jacqueline matures into a charismatic and likeable teen, powerful on major stages. Soon she is a...
Avertissement de contenu : maladie, mort, colonisation
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...
Avertissement de contenu : maladie, décès, VIH/SIDA
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.
Avertissement de contenu : génocide, colonialisme, mort, violence armée, mort d'un enfant, violence contre les animaux
« Rien n’est aussi réconfortant que la captivité ».
Beth, a young diplomat, and her husband Andrew are stationed at a Canadian Embassy in Africa. They are troubled by news of political upheaval, forced migrations and indiscriminate slaughter. They ...
Tabitha aide son père Ken, victime d'un accident vasculaire cérébral. Elle lui coiffe les cheveux et l'aide avec sa balle thérapeutique, la récupérant à chaque fois qu'il la laisse tomber.
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 be more. Paul is desperate, and crawls to his rocking horse for more luck, more ...
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 collapse...
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 partic...
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 Yuan. Her Fathe...
Qu Yuan erre dans le désert du sud. Au cours de son voyage, il compose une complainte sur lui-même et sur sa position perdue au tribunal. Dans le présent, le père de Xiao Lian sent que sa fin est proche. Rassemblant ses forces, il se joint à l'esprit de Qu Yuan pour raconter le dernier chapitre.
Tout espoir est perdu lorsque les villageois reviennent et récupèrent les biens de Qu Yuan. Ils emmènent les rouleaux contenant sa célèbre poésie au temple taoïste, où ils seront conservés pour toujours. Xiao Lian revient au présent au chevet de son père mourant. Grâce à ses encouragements et à son amour, elle reconnaît enfin la valeur d'honorer le passé.
Malcolm travaille sur sa candidature à l'université ; Eugène est malade. Antoine arrive en leur annonçant qu'il a été promu ambassadeur, mais qu'ils resteront dans le pays où ils sont actuellement en poste.
En plein délire, Jackie envisage de courir à nouveau vers l'océan à travers les champs, cette fois avec sa soeur Hilary. Elle demande à Hilary de ne pas parler de sa maladie à Daniel.
Jackie nous explique comment elle peut à volonté brouiller les lignes entre le fantasme et la réalité. Elle peut s'échapper des limites de sa chaise en rêvant de se baigner dans la mer. Elle se demande où se trouve Daniel et qui il voit.
Eugène est en train de mourir. Il a laissé certaines de ses affaires et celles d'Antoine à Malcolm, mais Malcolm est de plus en plus en colère contre Antoine qui ne lui écrit toujours pas de lettre de recommandation.
Jaan rencontre un groupe de femmes tribales dans le désert qui la convainquent de rester avec elles jusqu'à sa mort. Noor prend la place de Jaan dans le cercle.