projects
THE QUEEN IN ME
June 2, 3 & 4, 2022 @ 7:30 pm
Canadian Opera Company Theatre
Toronto
THE QUEEN IN ME explores the constraints of conventional opera roles and their reliance on gender and sex stereotypes, and explodes traditional expectations of demure muses and femme fatales by turning opera on its head. Launching from the narrative of Mozart’s opera, the Queen of the Night rebels against her expected narrative and refuses to finish the opera. She reveals her own story through monologue, spoken word and unexpected operatic excerpts in a highly theatrical piece that is powerful, funny, and uplifting, serving as a critique of the opera industry and a reimagining of what it could be.
Created and performed by Teiya Kasahara, and directed by Andrea Donaldson.
“I had to tell her story,
then I had to tell mine.”
BACKGROUND
Since late 2016, Teiya has begun creating theatre, playwriting and performing in an opera-inspired solo theatre show called The Queen In Me, which originated during the Emerging Creators Unit at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre during the 2016-2017 season.
Teiya Kasahara takes inspiration from their career as a professional opera singer alongside their lived experiences as a queer, feminist, person of colour to re-imagine the Queen of the Night, one of opera’s most infamous “fallen women,” and places her in the centre of a metaphor for silenced and discarded women everywhere. The curtain rises mid-performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, at the beginning of the Queen of the Night’s highly anticipated aria, Der Hölle Rache.
IN DEVELOPMENT
The Queen In Me is produced by Amplified Opera and Theatre Gargantua’s SideStream Cycle and is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.
The work is currently in development and will see its world premiere in the 2021-2022 season* in Toronto.
*This has been recently postponed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and may be subject to change.
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ARCHIVE PHOTOS
Click on the photos below to view
Photos 1-7: Queer Arts Festival, June 2019, Rachel Iwaasa on the piano. Photos by Tallulah.
Photos 8-11: Royal Ontario Museum - Friday Night Live, Nov 2018, David Eliakis on the piano. Photos by Yolanda Ferrato and Catherine Wilcox.
Photos 12-15: SummerWorks Open Studios, Aug 2018. Photos Henry Chan.
Photos 16-21: Tapestry Opera Tap This: A Queerated Opera Series - “The Queen In Me/The Queer of the Night”, June 2018 with David Eliakis on the piano.
THE QUEEN IN ME is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.
Workshop performance at AMPLIFY, Amplified Opera’s inaugural concert series, Toronto 2019. Photo by Tanja-Tiziana.
“Here our truths collide,
all sung unamplified.”
PRESS
CBC Arts・High above Toronto, soprano Teiya Kasahara performs an epic 'callout to the opera industry' — by Peter Knegt, July 3, 2020
The Globe and Mail・The Queen In Me is a damning inside scoop on Canadian opera’s exclusivity problem —
by Jenna Simeonov, Dec 2, 2019
Ludwig van Toronto・Amplified Opera's 'The Queen In Me' Offers Woke Resistance —
by Hye Won Cecilia Lee, Oct 14, 2019
Barcza Blog・Amplified Opera —The Queen in Me —
by Leslie Barcza, Oct 12, 2019
The Vancouver Sun・Live show questions opera's sour soprano note — by Dana Gee, June 12, 2019
THE Georgia Straight・Opera gets inclusive at Queer Arts Fest — by Janet Smith, June 12, 2019
Opera Ramblings・Queer of the Night — by John Gilks, June 10, 2018
Tapestry Opera・Tapestry Opera joins forces with Pride Toronto — by Darren Bryant, June 8, 2018
CBC Arts・Opera's massive queer fanbase rarely sees itself reflected on stage — this series is changing that - June 7, 2018
by Laura Kenins
Ludwig van Toronto・Tapestry Opera’s Queerated Opera Series Is A Fresh Way to Start Your Toronto Pride — by Matthew Timmerman, June 6, 2018
Tapestry Opera・Being Gay and Female on Stage — by Darren Bryant, June 1, 2018
Tapestry Opera・Queen of the Night misbehaves — by Linda Rogers, June 1, 2018
WORK IN-PROGRESS PERFORMANCES
From 2017-2020 various excerpt performances were presented as the piece has developed:
Presented at the 39th annual Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, in partnership with the company’s Emerging Creators’ Unit
Tapestry Opera TapThis: A Queerated Opera Series in partnership with Pride Queer of the Night (aka The Queen In Me) - An exploration with cabaret style staging, piano as live accompaniment with David Eliakis and various costumes
SummerWorks Exchange: Open Studios - A new excerpt with material developed in July 2018
ROM Friday Night Live: VOX - A new excerpt exploring amplification and live piano accompaniment in a concert style
Presented in excerpt at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival Pitch Session Jan 30, 2019 in Vancouver, BC
Queer Arts Festival June 21 & 22, 2019 in Vancouver, BC for two concert-style performances with Rachel Iwaasa at the piano. New material developed in 2019
AMPLIFY, Amplified Opera’s Inaugural Concert Series on Oct 11, 2019 at the Ernest Balmer Studio in Toronto with Trevor Chartrand at the piano.
CBC presents a Buddies in Bad Times Theatre Pride Cabaret on June 24, 2020
UP NEXT
World Premiere projected for 2021-2022* season in Toronto!
*The premiere may be subject to change due health restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic.