The current Tapestry Briefs is one of the most satisfying I have attended.  Briefs is the performance edition of the LibLab; an intense where composers collaborate with librettists to create new opera scenes.  Some of these disappear and some go on to be the starting point for new operas.  The current crop is strong.  There were eleven scenes in the show; sung by various combinations of Teiya Kasahara, Stephanie Tritchew, Keith Klassen and Peter McGillivray with Jennifer Tung at the piano and other keyboards.  As a bonus, at intervals Keith appeared to sing a parody of a famous aria describing the tasty little tapas which were offered around.

Every piece in this show was worth seeing and excellently performed.  They ranged from the raunchy parody of “security theatre”; A More Intimate Screening (Benton Roark/Daniel Solon) to the weird and creepy Of the Sea (Ian Cusson/Kanika Ambrose) featuring the ghosts of those who died on the Middle Passage.  Bring Me the Head of Our President (August Murphy-King/Colleen Murphy) was a powerful polemic against the degradation of democracy in the Trump/Fraud era while Hydrophis Expedition (Roark/Murphy) was an eerie exploration of the deep ocean during which the audience were asked to keep their eyes closed.  That’s just a sampling of course.  There’s one last chance to catch the show tomorrow afternoon at the Ernest Balmer Studio.