A NIGHT OF 1000 CLEOPATRAS

This August, the Canadian indie opera company Opéra Queens will present A Night of 1000 Cleopatras at Jeunesses Musicales’ Joseph-Rouleau Hall in Montréal. This production explores the myths, misconceptions and legacy of Egypt’s last Pharaoh, Cleopatra, through curated operatic arias, ensembles and works. The show includes newly commissioned world premieres by Morgan-Paige Melbourne and a new opera Cleopatra Built by Dr Jay Marchand Knight based on the E. E. Cummings poem. The program offers a fresh perspective of Cleopatra from a BIPOC and queer-trans lens, exploring issues such as race, gender, sexuality, and parenthood.

With support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Watershed Festival, Queens University and the Association for Opera in Canada, Opéra Queens brings this production to Montréal for three nights. August 9th’s opening night features a special interactive panel discussion and presentation of Marchand Knight’s new opera Cleopatra Built, which will also be streamed online through Zoom on a pay-what-you-can basis. Tickets to A Night of 1000 Cleopatras are on sale via Eventbrite for three performances on Wednesday 9 August at 7 PM, Friday 11 August at 7 PM and Saturday 12 August at 7 PM.

This BIPOC and queer-led opera company has produced some amazing works over the past three years including Tanya Smania, a queer-trans adaptation of Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin and Drama Queens, a film that reimagines four operas including Händel’s Agrippina, Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, Purcell’s Dido, and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.

A Night of 1000 Cleopatras is the third annual summer main stage show, directed by Sheree Spencer (Toronto, she/her) and Lauren Halasz (Toronto, she/her). The music spans several centuries - from Handel’s iconic Baroque opera Giulio Cesare, to Romantic compositions and 21st century works. The program also includes rarely performed works by Barber, Leroux and Massenet. Pianists Shan Jing and Morgan-Paige Melbourne form the musical ensemble along with Sonia Hellenbrand on violin and electronic music by Marchand Knight.

The cast features majority LGBTQ+ and BIPOC+ artists from across Canada and the United States. The Cleopatras of the night are portrayed by Ryan Colbert (Philadelphia, she/her), Vanessa Naghdi (Boston, she/her), and drag diva Tanya Smania (Toronto, she/they). Dr Jay Marchand Knight (Montréal, they/them) performs the title role of Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar), with Lucas Bouk (NYC, he/him) as Marc-Antoine (Mark Anthony) and Rain Saran Senavinin as Sesto (Montréal, he/him). In the premiere of Cleopatra Built, Laura Corina Sanders (Houston, she/her) sings Arsinoë, Ryan Colbert sings Nile, Rain Saran Senavinin sings Egypt, and Tanya Smania sings Charmian. Covers for this production include GTA-based artists Camille Labonté, Corinne DeJong, and Christina Yun who originated roles in Cleopatra Built.

The Founder and Artistic Director, Mika Fan aka Tanya Smania, started Opéra Queens during Fall of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal was to create an opera company company that would embrace BIPOC+ and LGBTQ+ identities, while also connecting the metropolises of Toronto and Montréal which are relatively close but often disconnected culturally. Opéra Queens presents opera “in full colour” in every sense of the word, with majority queer-trans and IBPOC / BIPOC cast and crew, as well as a focus on diverse composers and texts. Beyond those viewpoints the company creates paid opportunities for other marginalized groups – countertenors, big voices, plus-sized and differently-abled bodies, neurodiverse artists. Over time the company has become a welcome community and space for North American artists whose identities are not supported or uplifted in the mainstream opera industry. Opéra Queens has garnered fans around the world, even inspiring drag opera performances in Cape Town, South Africa. Mike Fan aims to manifest the quote by America Ferrera in her TED Talk: “my identity is my superpower – not an obstacle”.