Last night Tapestry and the Wilfred Laurier University Faculty of Music co-presented a workshop of Ruth, a new piece by Jeffrey Ryan to a libretto by Michael Lewis MacLennan.  It’s not exactly an opera, perhaps more like one of Britten’s Church Parables.  It is quite short; one act of nine scenes, six of which were given in full last night with a read through of the three not yet set.  The whole piece lasted maybe an hour.  The emphasis is very much on the voices; three soloists and the choir.  Last night it was given with piano accompaniment but the composer suggested that it would work for either organ and/or a small ensemble.

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