A woman in a black jacket and white shirt, is standing with her mouth open singing, there is a moose head on the wall behind her.

A Synonym for Love

A modern English libretto for Handel’s first opera, Cor Fedele.

In 2012 I was commissioned by Volcano Productions and the Classical Music Consort  to write a modern English libretto for Handel’s first opera, Cor Fedele.  Volcano and CMC were staging the production at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, and wanted to separate the opera (which tells the story of a love triangle) into three distinct tracts, followed by three separate groups of audience, throughout the hotel.

The result was a piece called A Synonym for Love, that sold out its month long run, and garnered considerable critical praise.  A Synonym for Love was nominated for four Dora Awards, including a nomination for myself in the category of “Outstanding new musical/opera.”

Reviews

"Right away, the tension between the original Handel score, played by 14 musicians in authentic presentation, combined with the new contemporary libretto by Deborah Pearson, is truly delicious."

Credits

Directed by

Ross Manson

Assistant Directors

Majorie Chan and Lowri Evans

Music Direction and conduction

Ashiq Aziz

Starring

Tracy Scott Bisette, Emily Atkinson and Scott Beluz

Orchestra

Classical Music Consort

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