Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival: Parélios by Cecilia Livingstone (music) and Duncan McPherson (libretto). Jennifer Nichols, director & choreographer; Evan Mitchell, music director; Rachel Krehm, festival producer; Carlyn Rahussar Routledge, set designer; Nathan Bruce, projection designer; Siobhan Sleath, lighting designer; Chris Faris, costume designer. Featuring TorQ Percussion Ensemble: Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake, Daniel Morphy. Solo voices: Len Crino (Wanderer — soprano), Brenden Lengsfeld (Memory — alto), Ryan Nauta (Witness — tenor), Aaron Dimoff (Guide — baritone), Keira Beasley (Child). Dancers: Sully Malaeb Proulx (Helios), Jarrett Siddall (Boreas), Miyeko Ferguson (Wind/Woman). Choir: Leader Robert Busiakiewicz, tenor and leader of nine voices. Presentation of Opera 5 @ Theatre Passe Muraille, June 12-14, 2026.
An Ecological Opera
It’s clear to caring, thoughtful people everywhere that the world is in crisis brought on by acute climate change caused by humanity’s abuse of the planet. The duo of composer Cecilia Livingston and librettist Duncan McFarlane are so concerned that they have written Parélios, a dark and intensely moving opera on this devastating situation, which debuted last weekend at Theatre Passe Muraille to a packed opening night audience.
People experience “parelios” when they look at the sun too closely, creating a “sun dog” effect, which means seeing light to the side of the galaxy’s brightest star.
Livingston and McPherson have crafted a piece that does that, too — having us consider the side views of our condition: the effects of migration, the degrading of our environment and concerns over what unthinking, unfeeling corporations and governments will do to the planet.
Musical Structure
Parélios is a contemporary opera, which combines older forms — loosely robed singers and dancers that remind one of earlier times — with modern elements: screen projections and sensually oriented activity with implied nudity (there are body stockings) which are totally up to date.
Daringly, Livingston’s and McFarlane’s music is only for voice and percussion, with nary a wind or string instrument employed. The over-all effect is extraordinary; the TorQ Percussion ensemble, masters of instruments ranging from cymbals and gongs to marimbas and xylophones, accompany vocals that evoke liturgical performances.
The merger of past and present movingly makes a case for the vast common members of the world, whose voices aren’t being heard by the powers-that-be in a decaying world.
Staging
Opera 5’s extraordinary visual and design team — Jennifer Nichols, director & choreographer; Carlyn Rahussar Routledge, set designer; Nathan Bruce, projection designer; Siobhan Sleath, lighting designer; Chris Faris, costume designer — have created a dark, poetic world in which humanity struggles to connect with each other.
Mirroring the music and overall intention of the work, Opera 5’s artistic assemblage place the cast in a shadowy world, where only the brave survive. Clothed in garb that worked for peasants in the past and artists today — loose, dark, communal — they move in unison, as they sing of their crisis in the world.
Nichols, as choreographer, places the dancers in the midst of this tragic world, asserting themselves beautifully in an environment beyond their control. A trio embrace and engage as duos and triplets in sensual discoveries of each other. Every move, every gesture is a reminder of the fallible sensitivities of human beings.
The audience on opening night was moved by the staging and choreography which meshed so lyrically with the music.
The Inspiration
Much of great contemporary art tends to be provocative and political, whether it’s Ai Wei Wei or Banksy or Jenny Holzer. That’s the case with Olafur Eliasson, the Icelandic/Danish artist, whose work is inherently democratic and inclusionary. More than 20 years ago, in 2003, Eliasson made The Weather Project, a huge installation that filled England’s Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, creating an environment where one felt close to the sun, with the ability to see and feel the power of the sky.
This critic was fortunate enough to experience The Weather Project back then, as did the composers of Parélios. Eliasson’s work was humbling, shocking and political. It’s wonderful to see and hear an opera inspired by the work.
Experiencing Parélios
A truly modern piece, Parélios demands to be experienced.
It’s not staged simply as an opera or a dance or a theatre piece or an art installation. The work is not easy to embrace. The composers and creative team demand engagement with the piece. Parélios demands respect for it and the planet.
Opera 5 has produced a work that is intense — and intensely engaging. One hopes that it will be produced soon in locations in Canada and abroad.
Those who saw it are unlikely to forget Parélios.
By Marc Glassman for Ludwig Van
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