Studio Company

“I believe that no matter what one is creating, the quality of the process determines the quality of the result.”

…Tom Diamond, director

Tapestry mounts two productions and one tour per year, yet we are busy year-round in the Ernest Balmer Studio, guiding artists through the collaborative process of new opera creation.

Led by Studio Company Resident Director Tom Diamond (Opera to Go 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, Dark Star Requiem, The Shadow, Iron Road, Still the Night), The Tapestry New Work Studio Company addresses the need for regular and ongoing collaboration between composers, writers, singers, directors, dramaturges and répétiteurs throughout the life cycle of each new work.

In addition to providing a nurturing environment for creative artists (composers and writers), Tapestry is evolving a vocabulary for the performance of new opera, a liberating approach to dramatic singing that in turn feeds the creative process. Building upon traditional classical training, we welcome singers into the process as creative partners, not merely interpreters. They are encouraged to participate in collaborative exploration and fully engage their artistic instincts in the discovery of new music drama.

“Working from/with the living source (librettist and composer) is both inviting and risky. Although I sing what is traditional, or on the page, sometimes the ‘out takes’ bring interesting developments and stick. This acceptance gives way to freedom – the risk has somehow paid off in the most natural and unexpected way possible.”

…Carla Huhtanen, soprano