On May 18, 2023, City Opera Vancouver will present the city premiere of Isaiah Bell and Sean Guist’s “The Book of My Shames.”

This one-man performance, starring tenor Isaiah Bell, will follow a youth as he’s driven by longing from a fundamentalist commune into a world of danger and success. It will combine personal stories with original music, chansons, and ballads, as well as cabaret songs and opera scenes, with Bell accompanied by a four-person band.

Bell has worked with COV since his professional debut in 2010 for their production of Britten’s “Curfew River,” and has performed with companies throughout Canada. He most recently performed with COV in the company’s 2021 English production of Poulenc’sbel “The Human Voice.”