Dark Star Requiem December 1, 2010

“…the best executions of new music you can find anywhere in the world.” John Terauds, Toronto Star

Tapestry’s Dark Star Requiem on CBC Radio
TORONTO, ON… Tapestry New Opera Managing Artistic Director Wayne Strongman is pleased to announce that on World AIDS Day - December 1, 2010, CBC Radio 2 will broadcast a recording of the world premiere of Dark Star Requiem, a dramatic oratorio from poet Jill Battson and composer Andrew Staniland, which was co-produced by Tapestry and Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, for the opening weekend of the 2010 Festival at Koerner Hall in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, Royal Conservatory of Music. Dark Star Requiem explores the 25-year history of the worldwide AIDS pandemic with astonishing power, shining a light on those affected by the fear, confusion and devastation that the disease has wrought.
The Toronto Star called Dark Star Requiem, "Artistically adventurous and intellectually provocative" and "exactly the kind of project that the Luminato festival wants to be about.” Classical Music Guide called it, "a ‘tapestry’ quite consistently mesmerizing to the collective senses and conscience of the rapt audience" and "a work of vital dramaturgy and lasting, thought-provoking power."
Directed by Tom Diamond and conducted by Strongman, Dark Star Requiem features performances from four outstanding soloists, Neema Bickersteth (soprano), Krisztina Szabó (mezzo-soprano), Peter McGillivray (baritone) and Marcus Nance (bass-baritone) and two percussionists, Ryan Scott and Mark Duggan, alongside two of Canada’s premiere ensembles: the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Gryphon Trio.
Broadcast Details:
Dark Star Requiem will air December 1, 2010 on The Signal with Laurie Brown, on CBC Radio 2, 10 pm-midnight EST.
Listeners will be able to follow the text and view production images online at www.tapestrynewopera.com.
The text from Dark Star Requiem is available in book form, either as a limited edition soft cover volume or a deluxe box set, which includes a limited edition print by artist Micah Lexier. To purchase, please visit www.foldedandgathered.com.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Tapestry New Opera is an international home for new work creation, development and performance through its unique and highly collaborative work process. Under the leadership of Managing Artistic Director Wayne Strongman, CM, Tapestry engages the hearts and minds of artists and audiences, using opera to tell the stories that need to be told. The Tapestry process begins at the annual Composer-Librettist Laboratory where writers and composers are introduced to collaborative creation. Successful partnerships move on to create 15-minute operas for our regular Opera to Go productions and graduate to full-length works. Our INside Opera Education Programme gives students the chance to discover their own stories and engage in the creation of new opera. Our children’s operas, Elijah’s Kite by Camyar Chai & James Rolfe and Get Stuffed by Alexis Diamond and Richard Payne have already toured to over 30,000 students across Ontario. Tapestry productions which have premiered to critical and popular acclaim include Dark Star Requiem by Jill Battson & Andrew Staniland (with the Gryphon Trio and Elmer Iseler Singers) and the Dora-Award winning Sanctuary Song by Abigail Richardson & Marjorie Chan (with Theatre Direct), both for Luminato, The Shadow by Alex Poch-Goldin & Omar Daniel, Nigredo Hotel by Ann-Marie MacDonald & Nic Gotham, Elsewhereless by Atom Egoyan & Rodney Sharman, Still the Night by Theresa Tova, Facing South by Don Hannah & Linda C. Smith and the Dora Award-winning Iron Road by composer Chan Ka Nin & librettist Mark Brownell.

We have simplified our name to Tapestry New Opera. Please refer to our domain name www.tapestrynewopera.com in case of confusion.
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For further media information and artist interviews please contact Kim Blackwell at
416-346-4709, 416-686-0982 or [email protected]