R.U.R. A Torrent of Light, an operatic experience bursting with light, sound, dance and drama that premieres this spring in OCAD University’s Great Hall features an award-winning cast and creative team.
The show marks a landmark collaboration between Toronto’s Tapestry Opera and OCAD U, pushing the boundaries of the opera genre.
Tickets
Making its world premiere May 24 to June 5, tickets for the general public are available for purchase now. Discounted tickets are available for OCAD U students.
Free dress rehearsal tickets are available. Book directly using this link for the May 22 dress rehearsal performance at 8 p.m.
Student discounted tickets are available for May 25 and 26 for $15 plus a $5 transaction fee. Use code Student15 for your student discount for Orchestra Side and Orchestra Rear seats only.
More about the cast & creative team
OCAD University’s Social Body Lab, whose mandate is to question the relationship between humans and technology, has been working alongside Tapestry’s team throughout production. Prototypes, including wearable speakers and LED collars, have been developed by director of the Lab and associate professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science Kate Hartman, with Digital Futures associate professors Nick Puckett and Dr. Adam Tindale, to blur the lines between the tangible and simulated.
Written by Governor General award-winning writer Nicolas Billon and directed by Tapestry’s Dora Award-winning artistic and general director Michael Hidetoshi Mori, the opera promises to be an immersive and unforgettable science-fiction experience, set in a fictional software company. The devices developed by the Lab will be featured in the unique production, which blends dance, video projection, futuristic costumes and a chamber orchestra of over 100 instruments, scored by world-renowned and JUNO-nominated composer Nicole Lizée.
The production is based on the 1920s play Rossum’s Universal Robots. Mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó will star as Helena, a coder and designers while her husband and business partner Dom will be played by Peter Barrett.
Countertenor Scott Belluz will play [Alex], their human-form personal-assistance robot alongside soprano Danielle Buonaiuto, baritone Micah Schroeder and mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington who join the cast as human-form AI. Artists Sofí Gudiño, Katherine Semchuk, Emily Spearing and Brayden Jamil Cairns will perform as part of the dance chorus.
Faculty members at OCAD U worked most closely with Tapestry’s creative team, which includes music director, Gregory Oh, choreographer Jaime Martino, set designer Cameron Anderson and Joanna Yu as costume designer. They have also collaborated with lighting designer Michelle Ramsay, sound designer Debashis Sinha and projection designer Cameron Davis, to make their shared vision a reality.
The full cast and creative team announcement can be found on Tapestry Opera’s website.