Reviews are in, and we couldn’t be more proud of the response.
We are not currently short of contemporary operas focused on larger-than-life individuals, with the modern stage becoming a popular venue for biopics – especially those of “great artists.” Unlike many such pieces, however, the representation of the life of the phenomenal musician Jacqueline du Pré that we experience in Tapestry Opera’s Jacqueline is anything but a predictable biography.
Jane Forner – Opera Canada
Through it all, her artistry is personified by the brilliant playing and the physical presence of cellist Matt Haimovitz. I find the staging quite ingenious, with various objects such as a phonograph, an LP, and other material dropping from the top at strategic points in the storytelling. Also striking is the presence of neatly placed chairs in the background, perhaps representing an unseen audience. When du Pré’s health and mental state started to deteriorate, the chairs become chaotic, symbolizing du Pré’s disintegrating world.
Joseph So – Ludwig Van Toronto
Most new Canadian operas get an initial run (if they are lucky) and then disappear. Luna Pearl Woolf and Royce Vavrek’s Jacqueline is unusual in that following it’s premiere at Tapestry Opera in Toronto in 2020 it also played in San Francisco in 2024 and is now back in Toronto for a revival at Tapestry; once again directed by Michael Mori.
operaramblings
Tapestry Opera’s biographical Jacqueline is totally unlike anything I’ve seen on an opera stage before. Directed by Michael Hidetoshi Mori, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek and compositions by Luna Pearl Woolf, Jacqueline is a heartbreaking story about music, fame, passion, and illness.
Janine Marley – A View From the Box
Stunningly composed by Montreal-based Luna Pearl Woolf, glowing poetic libretto by Canadian Brooklynite Royce Vavrek, the dazzling, quadriptych-like portrait of du Pré, shadowed by tragedy, summoned a kaleidoscope of fresh reaction, a casting of what feels like new light on a work long-cherished in memory, more impression, perhaps, than stark illumination, but no less intense.
Ian Ritchie – Opera Going Toronto