We have lots of exciting work in development here at Tapestry. Commissioning and developing new Canadian opera is at the heart of what we do, with a process refined over 40 years of experience in world premieres of all sizes.
Our artistic development focuses on investments in workshopping, dramaturgy, innovation and a commitment to artists. Each particular work’s needs shape the process grounded in collaboration, openness, and a drive for artistic excellence. There’s no telling what magic can arise out of such vast possibility.
With a number of major works in development, including site-specific productions and new investments in integrated technologies, there’s a wealth of artistic exploration and development going on behind the scenes!
Ten Days in a Madhouse
In 19th Century New York, daring reporter Nellie Bly took on an undercover assignment like no other: feign insanity and commit herself to a women’s asylum.
Working for the New York Reporter, Nellie’s mission was to spend 10 days as a patient at the notorious Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. Certain that women were being mistreated but unable to prove it, she exposed the inhumane conditions by experiencing them first-hand, causing a shockwave of sensation.
10 Days in a Madhouse dramatizes Nellie’s extraordinary, operative story as a partnership with Opera Philadelphia.
Dragon’s Tale
Dragon’s Tale is a joyous celebration of Chinese tradition with a Canadian backdrop bursting with soaring music, song and storytelling.
In present-day Toronto, Chinese-Canadian Xiao Lian wants her liberties and independence, while her father tries desperately to hold her close. Past and present, the Dragon Boat’s drum beats to the rhythm of Qu Yuan and Xiao Lian’s hearts. Both are conflicted by powerful love, and both desire ultimate freedom.
A Co-Production with Soundstreams.
Co-presented by Luminato Festival Toronto & Harbourfront Centre.
Of The Sea
Maduka, an African man onboard a ship carrying people to be enslaved in America, chose to take his life rather than endure the ship’s gruesome conditions and uncertain end point. Immediately after jumping, he regrets taking his infant daughter, Binyelum, with him, and he embarks on an undersea quest to return her to the long life she should have had.
Of the Sea brings to light the stories of people lost during the Middle Passage. At its core it is the story of a parent’s love for their child, their desire for that child to have a different, better life than their own, and the wasted lives and potential of a people lost to history, lost to the sea.
A Co-Commission and Co-Production with Obsidian Theatre.
