Tapestry Opera has launched COR, or the Canadian Opera Resource, a smart online tool that lets users easily explore Canadian operas and opera creators. There is a whole new wave of opera creators in Canada, and COR replaces having to research multiple sources with a single wiki-style website and searchable database.
Performers, producers, and musicologists will be able to find both the works and their creators easily.
Why it’s important
Along with the beloved repertoire of operas from the classical canon, it’s important for the world of opera, as in any creative field, to include a steady stream of new work. Operas take an enormous amount of time and resources to create. Three to 10 years is common, along with a good chunk of financial resources, whether public or private funding is used.
- Most Canadian operas are only performed once;
- They are only heard and experienced by local audiences as a rule.
For Canadian creators, the visibility offered by COR is an important step forward.
How does it work?
The COR database operates much like a wiki, where users can add to the body of information.
- It includes 40 years of Tapestry’s commissions of Canadian opera
- The list is growing as new operas are premiered
- Canadian creators and producers can add their works to the database
The database is searchable by type, voice part, and also by creator identities, including works produced by women, IBPOC and LGBTQ+ artists. It is hoped that opera creators will be able to find new opportunities for their works by participating in the database.
- In addition to simply finding works, users and like and recommend artists and specific works
- They can research and listen to samples as well as buy the scores and securing performing rights for recital, study, or full remount
Michael Hidetoshi Mori, Tapestry’s General Director and the COR concept creator, commented in a media release. “This dynamic tool will be a force for not only making Canada’s greatest operas and opera creators more discoverable, but by supporting the works that resonate the most, it will help reinforce the contemporary potential of an artform that suffers from outdated negative stereotypes.
Young artists, in particular, will have unique opportunities to find creators and stories that resonate with their experience and world and easily share them with colleagues. What scores previously may have languished in physical collections are now available to be discovered in seconds.”
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