Instrumentation: piano/violin/4-sopranos/mezzo-soprano/2-tenors/baritone
Duration: 10 minutes [Scene 4 only]
Year: 2014
Audio Excerpt (Soprano Aria Only):
Gwenna Fairchild Taylor, soprano; Andrea Grant, pianist.
Program Notes:
Written in collaboration with the University of Toronto Student Opera Collective, librettist Michael Albano, and composers Joshua Denenberg, Tyler Versluis, and Yu-Ting Lin, Footsteps in Campbell House is a chamber opera based on the historical events surrounding Chief Justice William Campbell. The opera takes place in the historic home situated on the corner of University and Queen st. in Toronto.
Unlike conventional opera that is staged in a hall, this production takes place within the rooms in the Campbell House Museum. Each of the four composers including myself were responsible for a number of scenes, and the audience will be led by a tour guide through the house while watching the scenes unfold.
For more info about the opera including a Q & A with librettist Michael Albano, click here.
For a recent article in the Toronto Star about the opera, click here.
Performance History:
– Jan 30, 31, 2015 – evening performances at 8pm
– Jan 30, 31 & Feb 1 2015 – matinees at 2pm
Reviews:
February 2015 – reviewed on NowToronto – Glenn Sumi, Jon Kaplan, columnists
“The music is pleasant and lightly scored, the highlights being Tse’s choral hymn following Campbell’s death and Denenberg’s use of Home, Sweet Home near the end of the short work. Fairchild-Taylor brings heartfelt sadness to a lyrical aria of mourning, while Naccarato and Sy’s wooing scenes sparkle.”
Roydon Tse 