Check them out below.

 

Dark Star Requiem ran for a whirlwind 2 night run at  Koerner Hall over the weekend, to open Luminato, and we’ve gotten some great feedback from local and international press and blogosphere!

Here is a quick round up of some reviews.

From the Toronto Star:

John Terauds calls Dark Star Requiem “Artistically adventurous and intellectually provocative” and “exactly the kind of project that the Luminato festival wants to be about”, comparing it to “the best executions of new music you can find anywhere in the world.”
Click here for the full review.

John also lauds the “marvel” that is Koerner Hall in a subsequent Sound Mind blog post, and writes:

“Just as the Royal Conservatory of Music did earlier this year with its inaugural opera production, Tapestry New Opera Works shows us how a concert-hall stage, with its wrap-around balconies, can effectively work as a theatrical stage as well. Dark Star Requiem director Tom Diamond and his creative team have used every curve and wooden texture around the stage to enhance the clever lighting and video projections. In fact, it was probably a more effective staging than would have been possible on a conventional proscenium stage.

From Arts & Culture Maven:

Arts & Culture Maven calls Dark Star Requiem “Striking, beautiful, and wonderfully weird.”
Click here for the full review.

From La Scena Musicale:

Joseph K. So writes “For anyone who cares about this 20th century tragedy, it should not be missed”.
Click here for the full review.

From The Baltimore Sun:

Tim Smith calls Dark Star Requiem “an ambitious work with a noble aim” which “provides a valuable jolt out of complacency.”
Click here for the full review.

From Positive Lite

Bob Leahy calls the staging of Dark Star Requiem “astonishing”, “captivating”, and “all handled with great dignity”.
Read the full review here.

Will update as more reviews are posted.

Artist Pictured: Neema Bickersteth and Peter McGillivray (turned) in the world premiere of Dark Star Requiem.
Photo © Brian Mosoff

The Toronto Star ran a lovely interview last week with Marcus Nance, bass-baritone soloist for Dark Star Requiem.

John Terauds writes:

“Even in music, it is people who help us connect with art. And it’s hard to imagine a more charismatic collection of performers than the one Tapestry New Opera Works has assembled for the world premiere of Dark Star Requiem on Friday and Saturday at Koerner Hall.”

and calls Marcus’ return to Tapestry (for the first time since Elsewhereless by Atom Egoyan & Rodney Sharman in 1999)

“a lucky break for the Luminato festival, as well as Toronto opera lovers.”

Click here for the full interview with Marcus.

The audience picked up their chairs traveled to 5 different worlds as we used the entire space in this amazing venue!

 

Great News! We’ve been touring Get Stuffed, a new opera for children set in the school cafeteria for 2 years in schools across Ontario. We’ve been trying to find the best way to bring this super fun show to a larger, public audience and we are thrilled to partner with the Distillery Historic District to end the 2010 tour on May 15, 2010 with a free family day including 3 outdoor performances and fun food workshops and activities. Visitors will also have the opportunity to help fight hunger by dropping off a non-perishable food donation to support the Daily Bread Food Bank and to collect information and parent resources from ChildFind Canada who assist in the search for and prevention of missing children.

May 15, 2010
PEFORMANCES
11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm in Trinity Square in the Distillery Historic District
55 Mill Street (north east of Parliament St. and Lakeshore Blvd) Toronto, ON.
An onsite indoor location will be available in case of rain.

Written by Toronto composer Richard Payne and Montreal writer Alexis Diamond for 5 singing actors and 2 musicians, Get Stuffed is about a timely message, making healthy food choices. Developed with Words in Motion and the Canadian Diabetes Association, Get Stuffed promotes environmentally-friendly, healthy food choices inspired by the Canada Food Guide, with special prominence for fruits and vegetables grown in Ontario.

Includes a food fight!!!

Get Stuffed is supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ministry of Health Promotion, Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. and Loblaws Canada.

For more information on Get Stuffed and the 2010 company please visit getstuffed.ca

Artist Pictured: Christopher Ryan. Photo © Meghan Hall

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0G50lXNvEY

Opera to Go 2010 opens Wednesday! Tickets are selling fast. Click here to purchase your tickets online.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxNpuEAKW7A

Opera to Go 2010 opens next week! Tickets are selling fast. Click here to purchase your tickets online.

Our first video statement is by Jill Battson, librettist for “Ashlike on the Cradle of the Wind” (composed by Andrew Staniland). Enjoy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBaywvX2L5s

“Ashlike” is one of the 5 short operas that are part of  Opera to Go, running March 24, 25 & 26 at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery Historic District. We hope to see you at the show!

 

Opera to Go runs March 24,25,26 at 8pm in the Fermenting Cellar, Distillery Historic District. See what director Tom Diamond and our Opera to Go design team have in store for our remount of these 5 short works.

TICKETS: $40 / $20
416.537.6066 or online

Tickets are on sale now for Tapestry’s Opera to Go Revival!

Opera to Go runs March 24-26, 2010 at the Fermenting Cellar, Distillery Historic District and features short operas by Michael Lewis MacLennan & Jeffrey Ryan, Jill Battson & Andrew Staniland, Mark Brownell & Chan Ka Nin, Camyar Chai & James Rolfe and Lisa Codrington & Kevin Morse.

Click here for more info.

Tickets: $40 / $20
Box Office: 416.537.6066 (x243) or online