What's On Past Events: 

The Whisper Opera

Main Stage

The Canadian premiere of the most intimate chamber work you’ll ever encounter.

Using a libretto compiled from search-engine responses to such prompts as “When I think of you, I think of…,” Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang explores the tension between our private and online selves in a work that demands the most intimate live performance possible. Reprising their successes at Lincoln Center and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, soprano Tony Arnold and New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)—hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most adventurous and accomplished groups in new music”—make their Canadian debuts in an opera so quiet, so delicate, that it can be experienced by just 52 people at a time.

Performance schedule

  • Feb 26: 8:00 pm
  • Feb 27: 7:00 pm
  • Feb 27: 10:00 pm
  • Feb 28: 2:00 pm
  • Feb 28: 7:00 pm
  • Mar 1: 2:00 pm

Limited tickets MAY be available at the door if there are no shows. We will take a waiting list for those who show up to The Theatre Centre in person. Don’t forget you can also see tonight’s Chamber Concert featuring ICE at 9pm (see TWICE THE ICE below).

Duration

70 minutes with no intermission. Please note that due to the intimate nature of the show, no latecomers can be admitted.

Video

https://player.vimeo.com/video/66747461
ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) David Lang: the whisper opera from MCA Chicago on Vimeo.

Post-Concert Chats

Join us after performances of The Whisper Opera for post-concert chats, hosted by Soundstreams staff members and with a different visiting guest speaker at each.

Feb 26, 8pm – What Makes an Opera? New directions in the venerable form

Hosted by Lawrence Cherney, Soundstreams Artistic Director, with guest speakers Claire Chase, flutist in The Whisper Opera and member of ICE, and Jim Findlay, The Whisper Opera director and designer

Feb 27 – 7pm: My Private VS Online Self: Self-disclosure in the digital era

Hosted by Susan Worthington, Soundstreams Executive Director, with guest speakers from ICE, and Eric Alper, Director of Media Relations, eOne Canada

Feb 27 – 10pm: ICE, ICE Baby: Arts Organizations of the Future

Hosted by Ben Dietschi, Soundstreams Associate Director of External Relations, with guest speakers from ICE, Aria Umezawa, Artistic Director of Opera Five, and Monica Pearce, Executive Director of The Music Gallery

Feb 28 – 2pm: Intermediality & Live Performance in the 21st Century

Hosted by Kyle Brenders, Soundstreams Artistic Associate, with guest speakers Tony Arnold, soprano in The Whisper Opera and member of ICE, and Ross Kare, percussionist in The Whisper Opera and member of ICE

Feb 28 – 7pm: Guided Critical Response Session

Hosted by Susan Worthington, Soundstreams Executive Director, with a critical response session

Mar 1 – 2pm: What Makes an Opera? New directions in the venerable form

Hosted by Alexa Petrenko, Classical 96.3 FM host of the drive and opera shows, with guest speakers from ICE, Lawrence Cherney, Soundstreams Artistic Director, and Joel Ivany, Artistic Director of Against the Grain Theatre

drake_logo

Special Offer

Receive 15% off your meal at The Drake Hotel, before or after The Whisper Opera, with your ticket from the show.