Elegies

by William Finn

Vancouver Academy of Music, 2016

Elegies is a song cycle by William Finn about the deaths of friends and family and is a response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

All Directing Resume Pilgrimage to Bach Angels Bone Berlin: The Last Cabaret Nigredo Hotel Acis + Galatea Side by Side, by Sondheim The Lost Operas of Mozart Dragging Piaf Silent Chap La Chatte Metamorphosee en Femme Webley aWaits Marry Me a Little Elegies Western Canada Summer Games Ceremonies 2011 Metaxu Other Directing Credits

Directing Resume Pilgrimage to Bach Angels Bone Berlin: The Last Cabaret Nigredo Hotel Acis + Galatea Side by Side, by Sondheim The Lost Operas of Mozart Dragging Piaf Silent Chap La Chatte Metamorphosee en Femme Webley aWaits Marry Me a Little Elegies Western Canada Summer Games Ceremonies 2011 Metaxu Other Directing Credits

Berlin: The Last Cabaret

This cabaret celebrates the subversive power of art and offers a warning to those who would take freedom for granted. 1934: As Nazism tightens its grip on Germany, a satirical cabaret troupe faces physical danger and a moral crisis. Members have disappeared under suspicious circumstances; the five that remain have to decide whether to bend to intimidation or perform their work uncensored. With death looming in the air, the risks couldn’t be higher—and yet the desperate need for expression is still there...

The Weimar era (1918-1933) was a time of cultural ferment in Germany. Steps were taken toward sexual freedom and progressive reform, and there was a spirit of liberation and innovation in the arts. Much of this was connected to the cabaret scene, and in this show.

City Opera Vancouver pays loving homage: with five singers and a band, the group takes us back to a time when liberation came in conflict with fascism.

Presented at the 2020
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

January 23 - 26, 2020

Produced by City Opera Vancouver
in association with Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre

Artistic Team:
Alan Corbishley: Stage Director + Co-Creator
Joanna Garfinkel: Co-Creator + Dramaturg
Charles Barber: Music Director
Roger Parton: Music Arranger and Pianist
John Webber: Lighting and Set
Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg: Movement + Choreography
Christopher David Gauthier: Costumes

Cast:
Julia Munčs, Meaghan Chenosky, Alen Dominguez, Brent Hirose, Dan Deorksen