Opera Kelowna presents The Queen in Me
Creator/Performer: Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野
Co-Directors: Andrea Donaldson & Aria Umezawa
Set & Costume Designer: Joanna Yu
Lighting Designer: André du Toit
Projection Designer: Laura Warren
Opera Kelowna presents the first half of their 2-part studio production, The Queen in Me. With a cleverly comical critique of how race, gender, and sexuality are portrayed in opera, this production gives voice to characters who’ve wept, raged, and died onstage for centuries—now it’s their turn to speak.
One of Canada’s most exciting and innovative sopranos, Teiya Kasahara (they/he) takes the stage as one of opera’s most famous villains, the Queen of the Night. But the character interrupts their normal performance of vengeance-via-vocal-pyrotechnics to look back at what Mozart has made of her in The Magic Flute. From there, the audience becomes part of the show as they meet characters from Puccini’s La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, and Manon Lescaut; Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor; Verdi’s Macbeth and Rigoletto; and R. Strauss’ Salome. Each character delves further into what opera has historically demanded of its women, both as characters and the artists who portray them.
The performance is riveting. Kasahara, a bi-racial and non-binary artist, is spellbinding as the Queen who will grip audiences’ attention and hold it tight for the entire performance.
Performed by: Teiya Kasahara
Music Director: Rosemary Thomson
with orchestral ensemble
Run time: 70 minutes, with no intermission.
Audience advisories: Mature content, bright light flashes
Tickets are being sold via KCT Box Office.
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