The UofT Opera Student Composers Collective will present an adaptation of Lysistrata, Aristophanes’ anti-war comedy. The play, written in 411 BC, is reimagined with a contemporary libretto and elements of gender fluidity.
The performance on January 21 will be in English with Surtitles.
Aristophanes’ original comedy revolved around a woman’s quest to end the Peloponnesian War that took play between the Greek city states of the day. Her solution? To deny the men of Athens sex, as the only thing they really desired. Lysistrata persuades the women of all the cities at war to withhold sex in order to pressure the men into a peaceful resolution.
The ancient Greek original is remarkably savvy about gender and the role of women in a patriarchal society.
Composers and creative team
The creative team includes:
- Libretto by Michael Patrick Albano
- Conductor: Sandra Horst
- Director: Mabel Wonnacott
- Lighting & Projection Designer: Gabriel Cropley
- Co-Costume Designers: Andrew Nasturzio & Alessia Urbani
- Stage Manager: Meghan Specht
Composers: Aaron Gascon, Danial Khan Sheibani, Joseph Park, Homa Samiei, Chiara Urban, Hsiu-Ping Wu, Yike Zhang, Yuhan Zhou
Aaron Joseph Claude Gascon grew up in Sudbury, and is currently completing the final year of his undergraduate degree in music at the University of Toronto. As a composer, he loves to break boundaries between genres.
Award winning Canadian Hsiu-Ping Patrick Wu was born in Taiwan, and adds iviolinist, and multimedia artist to his role of composer. His music looks to express his multicultural identity in a style that ranges from neo-romanticism to avant-garde.
Joseph (Sehyeok) Park is studying composition at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music at the undergraduate level. His music looks to develop a personal musical language using the traditions of Western classical music in innovative ways.
Toronto-based singer and composer Chiara Urban has collaborated with ensembles such as the Elmer Iseler Singers, Concreamus Chamber Singers, and U of T’s Opera Division in performances of her work.
Based in both Toronto and NYC, Yike Zhang received her master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto. In addition to her own composition work, she teaches undergraduate composition minor lessons and music skills classes.
Toronto-based composer, pianist, educator and artistic director Homa Samiei was born in Tehran. She is the co-founder of the Najva Ensemble and Chaam Trio, and serves as the co-founder and Artistic Director of Himeh Cultural House. After earning a degree in composition from the Art University of Tehran and a Master’s in Community Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, she is currently pursuing a Mus.M Degree in Composition at the University of Toronto.
Iranian-Canadian composer Danial Sheibani is also a conductor, pianist, and vocalist. He grew up largely in Malaysia, where his passion for music was ignited. After moving to Canada in 2018, he began to explore contemporary composition in earnest.
Born in China and based today in Toronto, Yuhan Zhou is a composer, pianist, and producer. She recently won the Ann H Atkinson Prize and is the current composer-in-residence at the University of Toronto for Wind Symphony.
- Tickets to the January 21 opera-in-concert are free, but must be reserved in advance. More information [HERE].
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