Singers beneath a billowing plastic sheet as scraps of paper fall from above

02 Nov Sweat

Posted at 19:51h in opera, works by

a cappella opera for 5 soloists (2 sop, mezzo, bar) and chorus SSAAA [70’] 2016; film 2023.

 

Librettist: Anna Chatterton
Commissioner: Soundstreams Canada
Funders: Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts

Sweat film (2023)

Sweat merges contemporary dance and operatic storytelling with evocative and striking imagery. Filmed in raw factory spaces, Sweat tells the story of a group of women working in the garment industry and sets their individual aspirations against the demands of global capitalism.

Producer: Bicycle Opera Project
Director Jennifer Nichols Cinematographer Ash Tailor Music Director Geoffrey Sirett
Featuring: Stephanie Tritchew, Larissa Koniuk, Catherine Daniel, Keith Lam, Caitlin Wood, Justine Owen, Erica Iris, Alex Beley, Cindy Won, Dedra McDermott, Miyeko Ferguson, Carleen Zouboules
Funding: Canada Council for the Arts

CalArts Production (2019)

Photograph of opera singers in a set that resembles a sewing sweatshop. There are sewing machines and fluorescent lights. One singer is arched backwards over a sewing table, her hands raised to the ceiling.


Producer: California Institute of the Arts
Director Jesse Bonnell Music Director Tanner Pfeiffer Scenic Designer Theo Her Costume Designer Sonya Berg Lighting Designer Ben Wilson Sound Designer Scott Goldfarb Video Designer Christopher Jungwoo Kim
Featuring: Kate Masson, Linda Marie Burns, Elizabeth Waller, Noah Jordan Cott, Socks Whitmore, Michelle Wang, Julie Reames, Emily Tschirhart, Mana Contractor

Canadian Touring Production (2017)

Singers beneath a billowing plastic sheet as scraps of paper fall from above

Producer: Bicycle Opera Project
Director Baņuta Rubess conductor Geoffrey Sirrett choreographer Jennifer Nichols designer Sonja Rainey lighting Kai Masaoka stage manager Julia Howman
Featuring: Stephanie Tritchew, Keith Lam, Larissa Koniuk and Catherine Daniel
Chorus: Cindy Won, Caitlin Wood, Justine Owen, Stephanie Tritchew and Emma Char

New York Premiere Production (2016)

Opera production still of Sweat

Producer: Center for Contemporary Opera in cooperation with Urbanvessel.
National Sawdust, New York, October 26-27, 2016.
Director Giselle Ty conductor Lidiya Kankovskaya choreographer Nicole Pearce set design Frank Oliva costumes Asa Benally lighting Bruce Steinberg stage manager Jeromy Hunt
Featuring: Larissa Koniuk, Shabnam Kalbasi, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, Patrick McNally and Eric McKeever
Chorus: Isabella Dawis, Katya Gruzglina, Leanne Gonzalez-Singer, Christine Duncan and Hanne Dollase

Program note:

“Made in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Italy, China, India…the U.S.A.”  Who sews our clothes, who makes our shoes? Where do they live? How much are they paid? What would you dream of, sewing sleeves all day? Is life better in the village you left behind? Sweat is a kaleidoscope of characters and stories collected from factories around the world. Plunging headfirst into the ethical conundrums of the garment trade, the work offers a window into the lives of the unseen millions who work to clothe us and the high-flying designers whose fantasies feed the fashion industry.

Photos: Dahlia Katz, Bicycle Opera Production



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