On October 28, 2021, Opera Atelier will present the film premiere of “Angel.”

Composer Edwin Huizinga’s commissioned work comes in association with OA Associate Composer/Associate Conductor Christopher Bagan. The first version of this work was presented in 2017 at the Royal Chapel in Versailles, where the company was invited to participate in the official Canada 150 celebrations in France. “Angel,” will also include excerpts of Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” interwoven with Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry in a new translation which is commissioned from American Playwright Grace Andreacchi.

The production is stage directed by Founding Co-Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski C.M., with choreography by fellow Co-Artistic Director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg C.M., and additional solo choreography created and performed by Tyler Gledhill. Music Director David Fallis conducts baroque orchestra Tafelmusik. The cast features soprano Measha Brueggergosman, tenor Colin Ainsworth, soprano Mireille Asselin, baritone Jesse Blumberg, soprano Meghan Lindsay, baritone John Tibbetts, and bass-baritone Douglas Williams.

The film screening will be held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, with the event including a special musical performance, and post-show Q&A session with the creative team. The film will also stream online, with tickets available for purchase on Opera Atelier’s website. The premiere is deicated to the memory of Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik’s Music Director and Music Director Emerita (1981-2014), and cherished collaborator with OA.

“Opera Atelier’s ‘Angel’ explores timeless themes of heroes versus anti-heroes, loss of innocence, isolation and redemption. The story – although loosely chronological, is not meant to be linear,” says Pynkoski. “It is our hope that the music, text, dancing and staging of ‘Angel’ will wash over you like a dream.”