Tapestry New Opera

See our Upcoming Operas “to Go” in Their Past Lives

Anna — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:42:39 +0000

We are reviving 5 Opera to Go favourites this month. Check out some pics of their previous productions.

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

3 Opera Briefs at the TSO New Creations Festival tomorrow, Feb.25

Anna — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:22:54 +0000

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s annual New Creations Festival presents the best in contemporary orchestral music, pushing the boundaries of sound with premières from today’s hottest composers. One of the ‘Festival Extras’ is free pre-concert lobby performances and for the Azul concert on Thursday February 25th, Tapestry will be entertaining audience members with three 5-minute Opera Briefs.

Purchase an “$8 ticket to the concert then come to the lobby of Roy Thompson Hall at 7:20pm and enjoy:

What is She? (from Opera Briefs 9)
Anna Chatterton, librettist / John Harris, composer

The Sermon (from Opera Briefs 9)
Bernard MacLaverty, librettist / John Harris, composer

Betty Box Office (from Opera Briefs 8)
Ken Gass, librettist / Jack Perla, composer

These ‘briefs’ will be performed by soprano Carla Huhtanen, tenor Keith Klassen, baritone Peter McGillivray and pianist Christopher Foley.

For $8 Tickets to the New Creations Festival visit:

www.tso.ca/weboffers

Use the Promo. Code : TANGO

Opera to Go – Volunteer Opportunity

Amber — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:58:12 +0000

We are looking for volunteers to help in various positions throughout run of Opera to Go taking place March 24, 25 & 26, 2010.

As a volunteer you will assist Tapestry as we present the Opera to Go revival at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery Historic District. Experience some of Tapestry’s favourite short operas from the past 8 seasons in one of Toronto’s most exciting venues and be a part of the action as we use the entire space to create 5 different worlds full of comedy, drama and suspense.

Opera to Go Volunteer Positions available:
Tour Guides
This will be an evening that the audience will never forget and in order to pull it off we need a team of volunteers to assist in seamlessly leading the audience around the space in between the short performances.
Bartenders (must be 19 + and Smart Serve certified)
Coat Check
Box Office Table

Time Requirements
Volunteers will be required to arrive at 7:00pm to prep for an 8:00pm performance time. Individuals volunteering as Tour Guides will be require to attend the Opera to Go dress rehearsal taking place March 23, 2010 at 8:00pm to learn the route.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact Amber Ebert, ambere@tapestrynewopera.com or 416.537.6066 x224 to sign up.

Opera to Go Tickets are On Sale Now!

Anna — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:02:30 +0000

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

Opera to Go Tix On Sale

Anna — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:14:50 +0000

OPERA TO GO Tickets On Sale Now! $20-$40 March 24-26, 2010 at the Fermenting Cellar, Distillery Historic District.

Tapestry receives $250,000 anonymous gift!

Anna — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:11:35 +0000

Tapestry has just received its largest individual gift to date, $250,000 from an anonymous donor to fund the Leadership Legacy Programme. Over the next three years, 6 mid-career arts professionals will be given the opportunity for a 3-month residency at Tapestry as Associate Managing Artistic Director, a position which is intended to grow the company’s artistic capacity and to provide leadership succession for the future.

“My interest in human resource management is an extension of the deep and trusting relationships I have built with musicians and singers from an early age. By extension, that is how I try to manage my business relationships, beginning with the staff and board and by extension to my colleagues in other companies around the world. Further, the invention of a vocabulary to make the development of new operas practical and successful has been built over 20 years of relationships with playwrights and composers, directors, designers, and of course the performers. It is truly a collegial world I inhabit. We hope that through this programme we will identify a future leader who will welcome the rare opportunity to join a well-established organization where they will be enabled to realize both their artistic vision and the business practice that will make it possible.” Wayne Strongman

Read the full media release here.

Photo © Brian Mosoff, 2009

Wayne Strongman appointed to the Order of Canada

Anna — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:33:43 +0000

On December 30, 2009 Her Excellency The Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, appointed Wayne Strongman, Tapestry Managing Artistic Director, as a Member of the Order of Canada for his innovative contributions as the founding artistic director of Tapestry new opera works; as the long-time volunteer choral director for the Regent Park School of Music; and as a champion of Canadian composers.

“It is such an honour to be recognized by one’s country, especially in the arts. Those of us who are called to such creative activity don’t really do it for the praise! But for me it is especially warming to have the work of so many Canadian artists recognized: writers, composers, performers, designers, directors, stage directors and managers, administrators and an army of volunteers. They must all feel validated by this recognition that new Canadian operas are profoundly affecting our society, and this award is truly an affirmation of all our work.” Wayne Strongman

The new appointees include 25 Officers (O.C.), and 32 Members (C.M.). These appointments were made on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. Mr. Strongman and his fellow appointees will be invited to accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

Read the full press release from the Governor General’s office here.

Read Wayne’s full bio here.

Donate to Tapestry

Anna — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:26:19 +0000

Make a donation to Tapestry via CanadaHelps.org

Wayne Strongman to be recognized at CMC 50th Anniversary Event

Anna — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:40:23 +0000

There are a lot of anniversaries this year, including Tapestry’s 30th. Our friends a the Canadian Music Centre are proudly celebrating 50 years! To honour the milestone anniversary the CMC has partnered with the National Arts Centre and its orchestra for a special concert and birthday reception, November 9th at the NAC in Ottawa.

The birthday event will recognize 50 performers and conductors “who have played exceptional roles in shaping the Canadian music scene and raising the profile of Canadian music. The CMC is pleased to honour these individuals at this event”.

Tapestry Managing Artistic Director Wayne Strongman is one of them!

Click here to read more about the event.

Click here for a full list of the 50 honourees.

Click here for ticket info. on the November 9th event.

Happy Birthday to the CMC!

Fabulous Review for The Shadow from Opera Canada

Anna — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:11:15 +0000

Opera Canada Magazine has just published their 50th Anniversary issue and featured a thoughtful, rave review for The Shadow from Editor Wayne Gooding.

Here are a few quotes:

“…Daniel and Poch-Goldin have fashioned a splendidly theatrical piece, one of the strongest developed by Tapestry.”

“We’re in absurdist territory in this opera, a world of dark impulses and imaginings, where private inner worlds break through public masks. Shakespeare’s Falstaff lightly referes to the inner world as ‘Our Saturday selves,’ but Jung talks of ‘a shadow side…of a positively demonic dynamism.’ The opera impressively exemplifies the same dualism; playfulness and farce animate The Shadow’s external storyline, but hte comic evocation of the dark side leaves you with the disquieting sense that you’re in a room full of dirty little secrets-and wondering whether you’ve let any of your own slip out.”

“Among a very fine ensemble of singers, pride of place must go to baritone Peter McGillivray as Raoul/Hernando. His central role bears the biggest burden, and he negotiated the difllcult and taxing score with great musical skill and all the dramatic chops to create a strong, pivotal character. Countertenor Scott Belluz, resplendent in a long, pleated topcoat and dark glasses, threw himself with evident relish into the diabolical title role, for which composer Daniel made full use of a high singing voice and lower speaking voice to create the Shadow’s other-worldly presence. Soprano Carla Huhtanen created a winsomely lovelorn Allegra, a powerful and eloquent presence in an otherwise all-male ensemble, while the not-inconsiderable supporting roles of the moneylender and the waiter (a kind of Fawlty Towers Manuel in musical overdrive) were vividly handled by; respectively, baritone Theodore Baerg and tenor Keith Klassen. This is first and foremost an ensemble piece, and it’s for the
excellence of this that the singers and the seven-piece orchestral ensemble conducted by Tapestry Managing Artistic Director Wayne Strongman deserve the greatest kudos.”

Click here to read the full review.

The Shadow

by Alex Poch-Goldin & Omar Daniel
(World Premiere May 2009 in Toronto)
Director: Tom Diamond
Music Director: Wayne Strongman
Set & Costume Design: Camellia Koo
Lighting Design: Robert Thomson
Cast: Carla Huhtanen, Peter McGillivray, Scott Belluz, Keith Klassen & Theodore Baerg

One-act opera of intrigue, desire and deception featuring a countertenor in the title role; premiered at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Downstairs in May 2009.