After leaking damning information on her government, the Hacker has found refuge in a foreign embassy. One step outside and Hacker would be arrested. As months and years pass, Hacker fear the public has forgotten this fateful sacrifice. One day, Madame Suzuki, a talking parrot and social media sensation, comes to the window. Hacker captures Madame Suzuki and uses the bird as a PR tool to regain the attention of journalists and fans worldwide. Tensions soon arise between human and bird over their new empire. What is true freedom and what does it cost?
The roles can be performed by any gender, with Parrot being a higher voice role and Hacker a lower voice.
Librettist: Maria Reva
Roles:
Parrot: soprano/tenor
Hacker: mezzo-soprano/baritone
Instrumentation:
flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello
Duration: 55-60 minutes
Language: English
Development process:
Plaything, was developed with Musique 3 Femmes and other partners through the Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes 2020 prize designed to support opera creation by female identifying composer-librettist teams.Excerpts of Plaything were workshopped with Musique 3 Femmes and students from McGill University (March 2021) and University of Ottawa (September 2021). Full versions of the opera (in piano reduction) were workshopped in partnership with Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program (February 2022). A full staging (with piano reduction) was workshopped by Musique 3 Femmes and theatre students at the University of Guelph (July 2022). Excerpts of the opera were presented by Musique 3 Femmes, SMCQ and Ensemble Paramirabo in Montreal, QC in October 2021. While most workshops and performances have been done by sopranos and mezzo-sopranos, excerpts of the opera were workshopped by tenor and baritone in Vancouver to test whether the roles were truly gender neutral and suitable for these vocal types. Plaything received its world premiere in September 2022 at UfaFabrik in Berlin. It’s North American premiere was mounted by McGill Opera in Montreal in November 2022.
