Sanctuary Song

From the wilderness to a circus to a zoo.

Based on a true story, Sanctuary Song explores the story of Sydney, an elephant whose remarkable journey culminates in her release into a Tennessee sanctuary.  

Written by the award-winning team of librettist Marjorie Chan 陳以珏 and composer Abigail Richardson-Schulte, Sanctuary Song is a story for audiences of all ages that uncovers powerful truths in the life of a remarkably resilient elephant. Directed by Michael Hidetoshi Mori and featuring original choreography by Aria Evans, audiences enter a circus and leave with the song of elephants in their ear.

Sydney, an Asian elephant poached from the jungles of Indonesia at a young age, recalls her remarkable life in captivity, far from home, as her keeper of 22 years leads her on a journey toward sanctuary in the hills of Tennessee. A dynamic weaving of opera and dance unearths friendships lost and found and restores stolen freedom. The power of memory and the wonder of communication in the human and natural worlds resonate in this moving new production that audiences will never forget. Among the reveries Sydney shares from her past is the incident where she broke a front leg trying to escape the circus boat which caught fire in the Halifax harbour.

The accident ended her circus career, so she came to the Louisiana zoo, where the opera begins. As he prepares to lead Sydney onto the railway car, her keeper makes a heart-rending covenant with her: “I was not the first to put a chain on you, but I promise, I promise, I will be the last.”

Nominated for three Dora Mavor Moore Awards – Outstanding New Musical/Opera, Outstanding Production of an Opera, and NOW Magazine’s Audience Choice Award, and winner for Outstanding New Musical/Opera.

This one-hour performance is an “opera for all ages” and the perfect evening out for the whole family. 

Sanctuary Song was commissioned by Theatre Direct Canada and developed in partnership with Tapestry Opera, with support from the Canadian Opera Creation program.