Opera lovers will get the chance to experience a new work and delve into the innovative development process behind the art form at an event produced by Toronto’s FAWN Chamber Creative. Belladonna: a co-composition opera-in-concert & process discussion is co-presented by Array Music, and will take place January 18 and 19.
FAWN Chamber Creative is a group dedicated to blurring the lines between art forms and audiences through experimental music and opera. Multi-disciplinary collaboration is their specialty. FAWN has commissioned several new operas, and explores putting together art music with non-classical music artists through their Convergence Theory Series.
A Workshop Presentation
For a week, the people of FAWN and a team of other artist will be working together to collectively compose a score for Belladonna, described as a queer techno-opera by librettist Gareth Mattey. Collectively, the co-composers will explore group composition techniques, documenting the results in a graphic score.
The results will be performed in concert.
Gareth Mattey, stage director, is also a librettist, dramaturg and filmmaker. Gareth was studying English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, when they began directing operas. Gareth went on to pursue an MPhil studying the relationship between opera and cinema, and recently achieved a distinction in their MA in Opera Making and Writing with Guildhall School of Music and Drama for writing their first chamber opera, Reel Woman.
Mattey’s recent directorial work includes working with the Central School of Speech and Drama, and British Youth Opera.
The Belladonna Team
- Teiya Kasahara – singer & co-composer (playing Cloth)
- Hillary Jean Young – singer & co-composer (playing Lake)
- Rebecca Gray – singer & co-composer (playing the voice of Atrophy)
- Vanese Smith – electronic artist & co-composer
- Sara Constant – flutist & co-composer
- Morgan-Paige Melbourne – pianist & co-composer
- Yang Chen – percussionist & co-composer
- Adam Scime – double bassist & co-composer (FAWN collective member)
- Harri Thomas – devising director/dramaturg
- Gareth Mattey – librettist
- Amanda Smith – creative producer, process facilitator & co-arranger (FAWN collective member)
- Rebecca Gray – co-arranger (FAWN collective member)
- Nolan Hildebrand – graphic score consultant & co-arranger
The Story
As a story, Belladonna eschews the usual coming out tropes in favour of thoughtful self-discovery as the path to understanding queerness. The group composition process reflects the principal that the piece should express the realities of a community of people. It also reflects on FAWN’s mandate of innovative opera creation and inclusion.
Belladonna continues FAWN’s mission to explore ways opera can be made, along with their passion for bringing more voices and perspectives into the creation process.
After the opera-in-concert performance, the process discussion will delve into insights that arose during the development of the work.
- Tickets and more information about the concert [HERE].
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