Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Tapestry Opera announces one of its most significant productions to date: a landmark partnership with Vancouver Opera and Canadian Stage for the two-city world premiere of Morris Panych and James Rolfe’s The Overcoat: An Opera. The production will premiere as part of Tapestry Opera and Canadian Stage’s 2017/2018 season at the Bluma Appel Theatre in March 2018. Immediately following the Toronto performances, Vancouver Opera will present the world premiere production in the Vancouver Playhouse as part of its second annual Vancouver Opera Festival.
These venues were the original Toronto and Vancouver homes for the award-winning, movement inspired piece The Overcoat, created by Panych and Wendy Gorling and praised as a “elegant expression of accomplished theatricality” by Variety magazine.This milestone Canadian theatre work enjoyed a successful opening in 1998 and multiple repeat runs across Canada, garnering critical and audience acclaim. The Overcoat: An Opera features an original score by James Rolfe and is a Tapestry Opera/Vancouver Opera co-commission, and a Tapestry Opera, Canadian Stage, and Vancouver Opera co-production. The creative team from the original play is reunited to bring the opera to life, including Morris Panych (librettist/director/creator), Wendy Gorling (movement/creator), Ken McDonald (set design), Alan Brodie (lighting design), and Nancy Bryant (costumes).
“This work was conceived in our 2014 Lib-Lab, a program that pairs up librettists and composers…much like creative speed dating,” says Michael Mori, Artistic Director of Tapestry Opera. “It proves that the model works! The Overcoat: An Opera is one of our most exciting projects to date, as it combines Morris’s unique style of physical theatre with a masterful new score by James Rolfe. It’s a great honour to partner with two major pioneers in new Canadian works: Vancouver Opera and Canadian Stage. Together we’ll bring this bold venture to life, spurred along by the original creative team and a tradition of innovation inspired by the 1998, The Overcoat.”
ABOUT TAPESTRY OPERA
Tapestry Opera is a Toronto-based company that creates and produces opera from the heart of here and now. For over 36 years, the company has presented award-winning works by preeminent artists, brought to life by some of the most talented and versatile performers of the contemporary stage. As Canada’s leader in opera development, Tapestry Opera is committed to cultivating new creators and performers to serve the evolution of the art form and build a lasting Canadian repertoire. Tapestry Opera alumni include Ann-Marie MacDonald, Atom Egoyan, James Rolfe, Marjorie Chan and Nic Gotham.
Tapestry Opera continues to drive the evolution of opera with an innovative 37th season, which opened with Naomi’s Road and will include the world premiere of Oksana G. from May 24 – 30, 2017 at the Imperial Oil Opera Theatre.
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Photo: Peter Anderson and Colin Heath in The Overcoat.
2017-03-01
Toronto: Three companies combine to produce "The Overcoat: An Opera" for March 2018