Tapestry Opera

Author: clay

  • Graphic Designer Part-Time Contract

    Location: Remote
    Type: Part-time contract, 16 hours per month
    Reports to: Marketing and Communications Manager and Executive Director
    Salary range: $400 monthly
    Submission deadline: Monday March 21, 11.59pm (updated)
    Start date: March 28, 2022
    End date: March 28, 2023 with opportunity to extend

    Tapestry Opera is seeking a part-time Graphic Designer

    The Graphic Designer supports the marketing and communications team by creating imaginative designs to deliver key messages that translate Tapestry’s artistic vision to a broad range of target audiences. 

    Tapestry Opera is a professional theatre and opera producer that is Canada’s most prolific and rigorous commissioner and producer of new opera works. We are driven to not only cultivate new works, but to cultivate new artists and performance practices that positively evolve the genre, tapping into vital and relevant stories and diverse musical traditions as part of our mandate. We are the leading opera company in Canada in performing works by women and artists from diverse backgrounds and we believe strongly in progressively reflecting and engaging the world we live in through our works and throughout all of our organizational activities. 

    We are committed to equity in hiring and specifically encourage people from communities of colour, LGBTQ2S, Indigenous, disabled, and other equity-seeking communities to apply.

    Things that matter

    • Clear understanding of and ability to communicate principles of graphic design
    • Experience of art-working for print and digital formats
    • Ability to resize artwork to meet specific guidelines
    • Ability to respond to feedback on graphic design and creative ideas
    • Knowledge of current practice and trends in print and digital design, such as accessibility, with the judgment to know when adoption of these trends is appropriate
    • Strong ability to interpret a brief and translate into artwork
    • Brand management and ability to translate key messages into visual design 
    • Experience of producing short, animated graphics and GIFs
    • Strong graphic and digital design and layout (including typesetting) skills 
    • Ability to take a job from concept right through to the production and specs of a finished item in both print and digital
    • Ability to work collaboratively with Tapestry Opera staff
    • Able to prioritize multiple projects and deliver projects to tight deadlines when required
    • Attention to detail

    What you will do

    • Create material for print and digital purposes, including annual reports, flyers, posters, signage, social media content and advertisements
    • Create design work for departments across the organization including but not limited to marketing and communications, fundraising and development and front of house.
    • Create logos and imagery in line with Tapestry Opera’s artwork needs, including designing show artwork and project logos. 
    • Be Tapestry’s brand champion, with expert knowledge of the visual branding guidelines. 
    • Manage the design process from interpreting briefs to execution within deadlines set by Tapestry Opera
    • Ensure consistency across our visual outputs

    Information for applicants

    This position is remote, and the designer must provide their own laptop and design software (Adobe Suite, including InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat); the opportunity to work from the Tapestry Opera office can be facilitated where available. 

    This position provides 16 hours of graphic design work monthly; hours may be carried over into the next period if the workload does not meet 16 hours. The designer will complete graphic design work as requested on a weekly basis; urgent turnaround will be communicated a minimum of 24-hours prior to the deadline.

    How to apply

    Please include as one complete pdf file, in this order: 

    • Up-to-date resume
    • Recent portfolio of your graphic design work
    • If you are invited for an interview, please be prepared to provide two references that we can contact by phone and/or email. 
    Read Tapestry Opera’s vaccination policy

    Email gsykes@tapestryopera.com with your pdf attachment and include Graphic Designer in the subject line.
    Updated Submission Deadline: Monday March 21 2022, 11.59pm
    We look forward to meeting you.

  • Women in Musical Leadership applications open

    Women in Musical Leadership applications open

    Applications are now closed

    Location: Toronto and across Canada
    Type: Full-time, July 2022 – June 2025
    Salary: $35,000
    Women in Musical Leadership application deadline: February 4 2022, 11:59pm
    Start date: July 2022

    Apply now to be part of our 2022 Women in Musical Leadership cohort

    Women in Musical Leadership is an advanced three-year conducting program structured as a series of placements with Tapestry Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and partner organizations across Canada. The program’s goal is to give developing conductors the opportunity to focus solely on conducting. After three years, they emerge ready for regular professional engagements.

    Conductors are given practical opportunities to assist, observe, conduct, build professional experience and expand their networks with a range of organizations in symphonic, chamber, operatic, and contemporary repertoire. Recent opportunities for WML conductors include working with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the program’s lead orchestral partner, assistant conducting world premieres with Tapestry Opera (Gould’s Wall, R.U.R. A Torrent of Light), and assisting main stage productions with Vancouver Opera (Orfeo ed Eurydice) and Pacific Opera Victoria (Carmen).

    Conductors are provided mentorship through a Conducting Advisory Council (comprising leading conductors in the field), and work regularly with Key Mentors JoAnn Falletta, Rosemary Thomson, and Karen Kamensek, who help guide conductors through their time in the program. 
    This advanced program is for applicants who want to develop their careers as conductors and music directors, with salaried, practical experience. Visit our Women in Musical Leadership page for more information about our partners, key mentors, conducting advisors, and the inaugural cohort.

    Find out more

    How to apply

    Women in Musical Leadership is for self-identified female or non-binary conductors who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Generally, applicants will have completed advanced studies (or equivalent experience) in a primary instrument, has some previous conducting experience and demonstrates readiness for professional opportunities and training.

    Please apply via our application form. Potential applicants are required to supply:

    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Two conducting videos
    • Two videos of conductors at their primary instrument
    • Written artist statement
    • Two professional references

    There will be two rounds of evaluation. Firstly by a jury committee, where candidates will be evaluated based on materials provided, on level of musicality, technical skill, overall presentation, and collaborative and leadership potential.

    The jury comprises members of the Women in Musical Leadership Conductor Advisory Committee, including representatives from Tapestry Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Opera Victoria.

    Candidates selected to move into the second round will have a 30 minute interview conducted by zoom.

    Please read our FAQs before submitting your application. If you’re still unsure of your eligibility, or have other questions regarding the WML program and application process, contact Program Manager Jennifer Szeto (jszeto@tapestryopera.com).

    Women in Musical Leadership is a project lead by Tapestry Opera, in partnership with Pacific Opera Victoria and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

  • We’re sad to announce we’ve been asked to leave the Distillery Historic District

    We’re sad to announce we’ve been asked to leave the Distillery Historic District

    Tapestry Opera, Nightwood Theatre and over 70 other artists and arts organisations asked to leave

    Our statement

    Nightwood Theatre and Tapestry Opera are deeply disappointed to share the news that the lease for our offices and The Ernest Balmer Studio in the Distillery Historic District will not be renewed, after operating out of the Distillery for almost 20 years. As of March 2022, and five months in advance of the signed lease, Nightwood Theatre’s offices will need to be vacated. As of August 2022, Tapestry Opera’s offices and The Ernest Balmer Studio will need to be vacated. This is despite a letter from Artscape in 2018 confirming a five-year tenancy to undertake studio renovations and upgrades, funded by a grant from the Trillium Foundation.  

    Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre are founding tenants of Artscape in the Distillery, along with Dancemakers. We are proud of our contribution to establishing the Distillery as a destination for artists and audiences, and as a space to create vital Canadian works. During our time in the Distillery, both organizations have experienced unprecedented growth: dozens of Canadian world premieres, Juno nominations, and award-winning productions that have toured nationally and internationally. We have also supported numerous independent projects through space, resource residencies and subsidized rent. 

    The decision not to renew leases for long-term artistic tenants was done without consultation. 

    Michael Mori, Tapestry Opera’s Artistic and General Director, said: “We had faith, given the vital impact we have on the culture of the Distillery District, that the arts would continue to have a home here. In addressing this reality, we are faced with finding a new venue in a city that has already seen numerous small venues and venue operators closed down, threatening the survival of independent dance, theatre, music and opera.

    We’re heartbroken that the loss of yet another artistic space in Toronto will impact the many artists and arts organizations who rely on our affordable space to create. We’re also distressed at having to interrupt our organizations’ seasons at this key time of returning to live productions after almost two years of COVID-19.”

    Andrea Donaldson, Nightwood Theatre’s Artistic Director, said: “Without the unique presence of artists, the Distillery will become all sheen, no substance. While we are powerless in this situation, we hope that this gross example of cultural extraction offers a cautionary tale, and that Torontonians will begin to assert their will against the decimation of cultural presence, rendering the city we love inhospitable. A change in city policy may be the only thing that can truly address the challenges for a sustainable arts scene in Toronto.”

    Both Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre are in discussions with Artscape about alternatives within their venue portfolio, but nothing has been confirmed at this time. Our boards and executive leadership are working together on plans for future facilities that include all possible options. Despite the instability of our studio space, Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre have clear plans forward for this season, and a robust commitment to powerful theatre and opera for Toronto.

    Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre request for Toronto residents to consider contacting their city counsellors to help address the ongoing venue crisis in Toronto. 

    How you can help

    Email your councillor: You can find the email address for your local councillor here. We’ve created an email template below which you’re welcome to use. 

    Email template

    Dear Councillor Name,

    I’m disturbed by recent news of arts organizations and artists being asked to leave the Distillery Historic District, as cited in Blog TO and on Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre’s websites.

    Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre are founding tenants of Artscape in the Distillery, along with Dancemakers. Their presence contributed to establishing the Distillery as a destination for artists and audiences, and as a space to create vital Canadian works, including  dozens of Canadian world premieres, Juno nominations, and award-winning productions that have toured nationally and internationally. Both organizations have also supported numerous independent projects through space, resource residencies and subsidized rent. 

    I’m concerned about the broader issue of a distinct loss of cultural presence downtown; small independent companies and venues with the most limited resources are most affected. The city has lost Dancemakers, Lower Ossington and countless other spaces. Here’s a list of media articles covering this matter, and a Facebook group also raising awareness:

    I’m a passionate believer in the value of Toronto’s arts and culture sector. I’m calling on you to take action in supporting better protection for these communities. 

    Sincerely, 
    Your name
    Your address

  • Full cast and creative team announced for Gould’s Wall

    Full cast and creative team announced for Gould’s Wall

    Tapestry Opera announces the cast and creative team for Gould’s Wall, a Tapestry Opera and Maniac Star production presented by The Royal Conservatory’s 21C Music Festival January 12 – 16 2022.

    The new opera, written by Liza Balkan and composed by Brian Current, is a tribute to Glenn Gould’s and other artists’ challenging pursuit of perfection. The show features performances suspended from The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Atrium, set to delight audiences in the new year with spectacular physical performances and beautiful orchestration.

    The cast

    Interdisciplinary artist Lauren Pearl (Le Nozze di Figaro: Figaro’s Wedding, Against the Grain Theatre; Poèmes pour Mí, Canadian Opera Company) stars as Louise, a young talented musician striving for perfection in her art. Caribbean-Canadian tenor Ryan Allen (What Brought Us Here, Calgary Opera; The Book of Mormon, Broadway; Titans, HBO Max) stars alongside her in the role of Glenn.

    Alberta-born soprano Caitlin Wood (The Overcoat, Tapestry Opera and Canadian Stage) plays The Housewife and Saskatchewan-born Juno and Dora award winning mezzo-soprano Andrea Ludwig plays The Mother. Tenor Keith Klassen (Rocking Horse Winner, Tapestry Opera; The Overcoat, Tapestry Opera) plays The Celebrity and baritone Justin Welsh plays The Teacher.

    Alice Malakhov plays The Girl, presented in partnership with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company.

    The creative team

    Gould’s Wall is composed and conducted by the award-winning Brian Current, with libretto by Dora Award-winning actor, director, and writer Liza Balkan. The multiple Dora Award-winning Philip Akin (Trouble in Mind, Top Dog/Underdog, Of Marriage and Men 1837, Shaw Festival) will direct Gould’s Wall, bringing decades of theatre directing expertise to his operatic debut.

    Award-winning set and costume designer Rachel Forbes (21 Black Futures, Obsidian Theatre, CBC; The Mountaintop, Manitoba Theatre Centre) joins the creative team alongside lighting designer and Siminovitch Prize finalist Michelle Ramsay (Shanawdithit, Rocking Horse Winner, Tapestry Opera). Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership Conductors Jennifer Tung and Juliane Gallant are the Assistant Conductors. Sheree Spencer is Assistant Director.

    Gould’s Wall makes its world premiere January 12 – 16 2022 in The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Atrium. Tickets are on sale now.

    Book tickets

  • Artistic and General Administrator

    Location: Toronto, ON
    Type: Full-time, permanent
    Reports to:  Executive Director, General Director 
    Salary range: $40,000 – $45,000
    Submission Deadline:  Sunday October 3, 2021, 11:59pm
    Start Date: Monday October 25, 2021

    Tapestry Opera is seeking a highly organized artistic administrator to join our team!

    The Artistic and General Administrator will play a key role in supporting Tapestry’s artistic projects and senior staff, and will be instrumental in keeping the organization running smoothly. You thrive as part of a team in a highly collaborative and artist-centred organization committed to creating socially engaged, exciting works of art. This role is perfect for someone looking to grow into a Company Manager or Artistic Producer role, and there is definitely room for that growth at Tapestry. 

    Tapestry Opera is a professional theatre and opera producer that is Canada’s most prolific and rigorous commissioner and producer of new opera works. We are driven to not only cultivate new works, but to cultivate new artists and performance practices that positively evolve the genre, tapping into vital and relevant stories and diverse musical traditions as part of our mandate. We are the leading opera company in Canada in performing works by women and artists from diverse backgrounds and we believe strongly in progressively reflecting and engaging the world we live in through our works and throughout all of our organizational activities. 

    We are committed to equity in hiring and specifically encourage people from communities of colour, LGBTQ2S, Indigenous, disabled, and other equity-seeking communities to apply.

    Things that matter:

    • You are a driver! You have your eye on your deadlines and are able to work with other staff to help you meet them. 
    • We make art that is socially engaged – you have an understanding or lived experience of basic principles of equity and anti-oppression, and/or are interested and open to the process of learning
    • You are a highly motivated team player with a keen attention to detail and excellent organizational, time management, and problem-solving skills.
    • You have a familiarity and ease working with Google business suite and/or Microsoft Office
    • You have a positive attitude and willingness to learn.
    • You are a hands-on implementer with the ability to juggle multiple tasks 
    • You have an interest in, and understanding of, the arts.
    • You are familiar with, or are confident in your ability to get familiar with, PatronManager (Salesforce)
    • You are looking for work you’ll love. We do this because we are passionate about it, and we like each other.

    What we offer:

    • Comprehensive health benefits
    • Flexible hours and work-from-home days
    • Casual working environment
    • Unlimited vacation and paid time off 
    • Open, transparent, and communicative office culture
    • Professional development opportunities

    What you will do:

    This is a comprehensive but not exhaustive list, in which there is room for growth in particular areas of interest to the applicant. As with any small organization, additional duties as required, within reason and subject to discussion.

    Artistic Administration (50%)

    • General Director Support: 
      • Facilitating greater efficiency for the General Director’s responsibilities through communication with the Executive Director, staff, and other relevant stakeholders.
      • Track and facilitate weekly priorities and artistic timelines
    • Artist and Production Support: 
      • Be the most frequent point of contact for artists and production stakeholders
      • Manage contracting, paperwork, and commissioning/ production timelines
      • Point of contact between Artistic and Marketing departments, helping translate artistic ideas into content

    Facilities Management (30%) 

    • Studio Management: (Shared with Advancement Associate)
      • manage calendars, contracts, and bookings for studio rentals
      • manage studiorentals@ email address
    • Office Management
      • Day-to-day management of office space
      • Managing info@ email address

    Communications Administration support (20%)

    • Tracking and evaluation:
      • monitoring media, assisting with tracking analytics and reporting
    • Show Promotion support:
      • manage event listings and Dora nomination processes

    If this sounds like something that you could love, we’d like to hear from you.

    Checklist:  Please include as one complete pdf file, in this order: 

    • Cover letter (hint, research the company) on why you’d like to work for Tapestry and why you think you’d make an excellent candidate for this role.
    • Up-to-date resume.

    If you are invited for an interview, please be prepared to provide two references that we can contact by phone and/or email. 

    Email jmartino@tapestryopera.com with your pdf attachment and include Artistic Administrator in the subject line.
    Submission Deadline:  Sunday, October 3rd, 2021, 11:59pm
    We look forward to meeting you!

  • Executive Director – Parental Leave Contract

    Location: Toronto, ON
    Type: Full-time contract
    Reports to:  Board of Directors
    Salary range: $55,000 – $60,000 based on experience
    Start Date: November 1, 2021
    End Date: January 23, 2023

    We’re looking for a driven, organized Executive Director for a one-year parental leave contract!

    Tapestry Opera is an award-winning independent opera producer known for innovative and progressive practices in developing and producing opera. We value collaboration and rigour in developing and producing new works as much as we do collaboration in our administrative work. The company culture onstage and off is one that welcomes new ideas, strives to evolve, and cultivates new practices. As North America’s most prolific commissioner and producer of new operatic work, we see vital and relevant stories and diverse musical traditions as part of our mandate and opera’s natural evolution. We are the leading opera company in Canada in performing works by women and artists from diverse backgrounds and believe strongly in progressively reflecting and engaging the world we live in through our works and throughout all of our organizational activities.  As of 2020, Tapestry is a deficit-free company with a healthy operational cash reserve, operating in the range of $1.4-$1.5M annual budget.

    For the purposes of Parental Leave, this contract position reports to General Director Michael Mori, working collaboratively to determine strategic priorities. Primary responsibilities include managing full- and part-time staff (5FT, 1PT, & Bookkeeper) and deadlines, overseeing staged and digital productions and special programs, managing annual and day-to-day finances, working with the board of directors including participation on various committees and preparing board of director meetings, and in general managing the heck out of the organization. The Executive Director position includes hands-on work, with concentrated activity in finance, government grants, and events. This position will require working from the Tapestry Opera office and Ernest Balmer Studio, located in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District as well as being onsite for our productions, with some flexibility for working from home. 

    We are committed to equity and justice in hiring and we particularly encourage applications from people from communities of colour, LGBTQ2S, Indigenous, disabled, and other equity-seeking communities


    Things that matter:

    • We make art that is socially engaged – you have an understanding or lived experience of principles of equity and anti-oppression, and/or are interested in and open to the process of learning
    • You have relevant experience in organizational management (minimum 3 years professional experience preferred), with a track record of success.
    • You have exceptional writing and communication skills.
    • You are analytical and tuned in to new marketing trends.
    • Familiarity with one or more of the following preferred: Government granting portals, Google Suite, Quickbooks, PatronManager
    • You have a keen understanding of how to support staff, prioritizing people while achieving outcomes
    • You are a multitasker! There is a lot going on here.
    • You have an interest in, and understanding of, the arts – knowledge of opera an asset.
    • You see challenge as an opportunity
    • You are looking for work you’ll love. We do this because we love the work, and we like each other.

    What we offer:

    • Comprehensive health benefits
    • Flexibility with hours, work-from-home days
    • Casual working environment in a beautiful historic district
    • Unlimited vacation and paid time off 
    • Open, transparent, and communicative office culture
    • Professional development opportunities
    • Your expertise is valued and trusted, and you will have real input into decision-making
    • Tickets to all Tapestry productions.

    What you will do:

    This is a comprehensive but not exhaustive list, in which there is room for growth in particular areas of interest to the applicant. As with any small organization, additional duties as required, within reason and subject to discussion.

    Of great importance to the organization is the role of Culture Carrier: the successful candidate will care deeply about a healthy working environment, holding space for staff, thoughtfully navigating the difficult terrain of Covid recovery, and in general creating an atmosphere of trust, accountability, transparency, and autonomy. 

    Board relations

    • Development of meeting processes, agendas, and schedule
    • Management of Finance Committee; participation in Development Committee
    • Activating board members to achieve organizational goals

    Finance & Budget

    • Budgeting:
      • Management of 21-22 Budget
      • Development and management of 22-23 Budget
      • Development of all production, HR, and administrative budgets
    • Management and execution of FY21 Audit
    • Management of payroll, all invoices and expenses
    • Overall financial management on a year-by-year basis

    Development

    • Overall responsibility for budgetary & financial health
    • Management of all government grant applications, with the Advancement Associate
      • Strategic direction for each grant
      • Budget development
      • Grant writing and final editing eye
    • Overall management of deliverable timelines
    • Ongoing monitoring of funding sector, identifying opportunities, building strategic relationships

    Partnership Management

    • Development and management of agreements, budgets, and timelines for partnership productions
    • Ongoing communication with partners and partner organizations

    Program Management

    • Development of structure of new programs
    • Ensuring program structure reflects strategic goals of the program
    • Development of budget, timelines, staff needs
    • Oversee all elements of project deliverables
    • Ongoing monitoring of project direction and implementation

    Human Resources

    • Staff management
      • First point of contact for all staff members
      • Weekly one-on-one meetings with all staff
      • Monitoring capacity, priorities, and strategic alignment
      • Creating an environment of trust and respect
    • With the General Director, managing all hiring and recruiting

    Driving timelines and execution

    • For all activities, day-to-day and over the course of the year

    Performance Production

    • Development of all timelines and workbacks
    • Creation of workshop, rehearsal, and production schedules
    • Creation and management of budgets
    • Overseeing execution of artistic vision
    • Managing partnerships, community outreach, and special events related to performances

    Women in Musical Leadership

    • Management of contract staff
    • Management of partnerships
    • Development of selection and conducting committees
    • Overseeing strategic direction
    • Developing secondary opportunities and relationships
    • Budgetary oversight

    Canadian Opera Resource

    • All project management
    • Management of contract staff
    • Management of partnerships
    • Final deliverable: Launch of Database June 30, 2022

    If this sounds like something that you could love, we’d like to hear from you.

    Checklist:  Please include as one complete pdf file, in this order: 

    • Cover letter (hint, research the company) on why you’d like to work for Tapestry and why you think you’d make an excellent candidate for this role.
    • Up-to-date resume.

    If you are invited for an interview, please bring two references that we can contact by phone and/or email.

    Email jmartino@tapestryopera.com with your pdf attachment and include ED Parental Leave in the subject line.
    Application Deadline: September 19th, 11:59pm
    We look forward to meeting you!

  • Audition call for dancers

    Audition call for dancers

    We’re casting four dancers for our upcoming world premiere, R.U.R. A Torrent of Light

    Registration deadline August 31

    Audition Date: September 2nd, 1:30 pm 
    Audition Location: TDT Winchester Theatre

    • Theatre will open at 12:30pm for registration and warm up
    • ALL auditionees must be fully vaccinated

    We’re seeking dancers representing a diverse mix of gender expressions and identities, racial identities, body shapes, and dance histories. The primary dance language will be contemporary, with opportunities for highlighting specific skills or styles, with an emphasis on embodiment and storytelling through movement. 

    Choreographers: Jaime Martino & Rodney Diverlus
    The Show: R.U.R. A Torrent of Light tells a near-future story of the burgeoning consciousness of AI, raising questions of humanity, technology, and who we believe ourselves to be. 

    Workshop/Rehearsal Dates:

    • Workshop: December 6 – 18, 2021
    • Workshop: February 21 – 26, 2022
    • Rehearsal dates: May 2 – 22, 2022
    • Performance dates: May 24 – June 5, 2022

    All contracts are CAEA contracts with a fee of $1100/week.

    Audition Structure:

    • Short combo 
    • Embodiment exercise
    • Special skills/show us your talent

    All auditionees must sign up here by August 31 for contact tracing and capacity purposes. Auditions will take place across 2 sessions. We’ll email you with your assigned session.

    Register now

  • Our future plans for live performances in Toronto

    The Tapestry Opera 2022 bill includes a site-specific robot opera and a tribute to Glenn Gould’s journey to perfection, featuring singers suspended from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s atrium.

    Tapestry Opera announces plans for live performances in 2022 and 2023, with a program of deeply experiential, socially relevant and artistically expansive works. Tapestry, Canada’s most prolific creator of new Canadian Opera, are revealing two dynamic world premieres which will take the live stage in 2022, plus a further three major works in development due to premiere in the following two seasons. 

    All upcoming projects offer unique and enthralling live audience experiences, bringing operatic life to buildings and spaces throughout the city; a stimulating antidote to isolation and the absence of in-person performances in Toronto throughout the pandemic. 

    • Gould’s Wall – Music by Brian Current, text by Liza Balkan – opera singers climb the interior wall of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s atrium in this operatic investigation of Canadian musical icon Glenn Gould’s search for perfection
    • R.U.R. A Torrent of Light – Music by Nicole Lizée, text by Nicolas Billon – an immersive, design-and-technology rich site specific experience including an innovative design and venue partnership with OCAD University
    • Dragon’s Tale – Music by Ka Nin Chan, text by Mark Brownell – a new opera inspired by poet Qu Yuan and the origin of the Dragon Boat race in Chinese mythology. Due to be performed this June, now rescheduled; to be performed on Toronto’s waterfront in partnership with Soundstreams
    • Of the Sea – Music by Ian Cusson, Text by Kanika Ambrose – a mythical exploration of father and daughter who fall to the bottom of the ocean and meet an underwater people, refusing to stay where fate has sent them, but striving to reach the surface, in partnership with Obsidian Theatre
    • 10 Days in a Madhouse – Music by Rene Orth, Text by Hannah Moscovitch – the extraordinary story of reporter Nellie Bly admitting herself to a women’s sanitorium in 19th Century New York, in partnership with Opera Philadelphia

    In a joint statement, Tapestry’s Artistic & General Director Michael Hidetoshi Mori, and Tapestry’s Executive Director Jaime Martino said:

    “LIVE is coming back to Tapestry Opera with a bang! From singers in mid-air in Gould’s Wall to pioneering new integrations of technology in R.U.R., this season is going to be one of Tapestry’s most exciting seasons. We’ve been developing these and future projects during the pandemic, so that we can come back bolder than ever to thrill and engage with our audiences.” 

    Gould’s Wall dramatizes a metaphysical journey of a young artist as she conjures Canadian icon and classical pianist Glenn Gould to guide her pursuit of artistic perfection. This daring new opera features singers climbing along the interior wall of The Royal Conservatory’s atrium and echoes Gould’s constant striving for artistic perfection and the inherent climb and fall in the artist’s journey. Composed and conducted by the award-winning Brian Current, with libretto by Dora Award-winning actor, director, and writer Liza Balkan, this production will be directed by the multiple Dora Award-winning Philip Akin. For this site-specific work, audiences will watch from the RCM’s café area. The orchestra will feature The Glenn Gould School’s New Music Ensemble.
    Winter 2022

    Performed as an immersive, site-specific experience, R.U.R. Torrent of Light is a new chamber opera exploring humanity’s relationship to technology. Inspired by Karel Čapek’s 1920’s science-fiction play Rossum’s Universal Robots, the opera is set 20 years in the future where Artificial Intelligence is embedded deeply into everyday life. The R.U.R. Torrent of Ligh experience is built around an innovative design partnership with OCAD University, and features a dynamic cast of virtuosic opera singers, musicians and dancers. Composed by world renowned composer Nicole Lizée with libretto by Governor General award-winning writer  Nicolas Billon.
    Spring 2022

    More details about Tapestry Opera’s 2022 world premieres, including casting and on sale dates, will be announced in Fall 2021. 

    Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale!

    Sign up

  • Box Concerts returns for Summer 2021

    Box Concerts returns for Summer 2021

    Tapestry Opera announces the second year of Box Concerts, the joyful curbside concert program. The pop-up stage will tour hospitals, care homes and private residences across the GTA for 100 performances over summer and fall 2021. 

    Box Concerts returns to premiere a new one-person-show created just for this summer, featuring opera, musical theatre and brand new songs to tell a charming story of connection and belonging. 

    The 2021 creative team features Canadian composer Benton Roark (TAP:EX Augmented Opera, Bandits in the Valley) and Canadian playwright Donna-Michelle St. Bernard (TAP:EX Forbidden, S.O.S. Sketch Opera Singers), who join Tapestry’s Artistic Director and Box Concerts director Michael Hidetoshi Mori. The storytelling element developed for this year’s program adds a fun and dramatic flair to the already joyful experience.

    Award-winning tenor and rising Canadian opera star Asitha Tennekoon also joins the team, performing his second year as a Box Concerts soloist. 

    “We were overwhelmed with the magic Box Concerts brought to Toronto communities last year” explains Mori. “We delivered 74 concerts around the city, with over 50 performed free to hospitals and care homes. This year I’m delighted to be relaunching the program with the goal of reaching twice as many people, bringing the collective experiences of beauty and joy to Torontonians suffering from over a year of isolation.”

    “The pandemic demanded that we find new ways to engage with artists and Canadian audiences, and Box Concerts is a prime example: working with a high-calibre artistic team on new works designed for the people of Toronto. Box Concerts are so joyful for us because creating new Canadian opera is at the heart of what we do.”

    “I can’t wait to share music with communities around the city. We’re committed to sharing as much magic as possible!”

    Box Concerts performs for free at care homes and hospitals across the GTA. Private residences are also able to book a Box Concert for their street; booking goes on sale May 17. 

    The Box Concerts set will also appear as part of Canadian Stage’s Dream in High Park program in July. For more information visit Canadian Stage’s website. 

    Box Concerts runs from June 15 – September 15 2021. Private bookings go on sale May 17, Care Home bookings are on sale now.

    Find out more

    Box Concerts is supported by J.P. Bickell Foundation, Metcalf Foundation and Soulpepper Theatre. 

  • General Audition Call for our upcoming Seasons

    General Audition Call for our upcoming Seasons

    Tapestry Opera is now accepting video and audio general audition submissions for its 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons

    Deadline May 1st 2021

    Tapestry is conducting a general audition to cast 3 full-length world premiere productions, and numerous workshops in support of these productions.

    We invite classically trained singer-actors with professional experience in opera, new music, and theatre to apply. Trained singers with background or experience in dance, gymnastics, or other physical disciplines are particularly invited to apply.

    Apply now

    To apply to our general auditions, please submit two recordings made within the past two years. Online callbacks take place between May 4 – 6.

    Performers who have previously auditioned for us may submit to the general audition call, but may not be offered a callback if they have been recently heard by Tapestry. Tapestry Opera is a Canadian Actors Equity Association company working under the Canadian Theatre Agreement. CAEA performers with professional experience in opera will be scheduled for online callback first. 

    Non-CAEA performers or CAEA performers without professional opera experience are required to submit a link to a recording of their voice . Suggested repertoire is suitable to the requirements of the musical and dramatic challenges in contemporary opera and music theatre.

    General audition online applications close May 1st, 2021.

    Apply now

    If you have any questions, please email Artistic Administrator Kate Croome at kcroome@tapestryopera.com with ‘General Audition’ in the subject line.

    Tips for high quality video recording at home

    Background

    Make sure to capture your recorded audition in a professional setting by limiting background distractions, thus keeping the focus on you. A plain background helps maintain attention on you instead of competing with house plants and other decor in the foreground.

    Lighting

    Natural lighting from windows to your side or front is optimal in combination with interior lighting. If you happen to have a ring light that’s great as they do help create soft direct lighting and less shadows, but no worries if you don’t.

    Frame

    Full body is preferred, but if this is not possible, a medium close-up (a shot from the waist up) will help us also take in your natural movement gestures and physicality. Make sure your camera is in landscape/horizontal position and as stable as possible.

    Sound Quality

    Make sure to preview the sound quality of your built-in mic. If you feel it’s not getting the job done, consider an external mic linked to your phone or computer. Find out more about how to use an external mic.

    Software

    These video editing programs are not required but if you have access, should help with final post touches: iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Lightworks.

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