The Queen in Me
August 9
The Queen in Me
Produced by Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野
August 9th
Synopsis
Featuring music from La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Macbeth, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Rigoletto, Salome, and The Magic Flute.
Approaching the climax of one of the world’s most famous arias, the Queen of the Night abruptly breaks the fourth wall to speak out against the monochromatic strictures that keep opera rooted in the standards of the past. Combining comedy, drama, and plenty of opera, this vibrant show by interdisciplinary artist Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野(they/them) gives a voice to the Queen of the Night, who explores how the rigid conventions of race, gender, and sexuality in opera prevent one of the greatest art forms from reaching its kaleidoscopic potential.
Tickets to Friday Night’s Performance (individual and festival pass) give free entry into CK Pride’s kickoff dance at Jazz Bah
Photo by Dahlia Katz
The Queen In Me is a co-production by Canadian Opera Company, Amplified Opera, Nightwood Theatre, and Theatre Gargantua
Creator & Performer: Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野
Co-Directors: Andrea Donaldson & Aria Umezawa
Set & Costume Designer: Joanna Yu
Lighting Designer: Andre du Toit
Projection Designer: Laura Warre
meet the team
Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 (he/they) – Creator & Performer
Heralded as “artist with extraordinary things to say” (The Globe and Mail) and “a force of nature” (Toronto Star), Nikkei Canadian settler Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 (they/he) is a transgender opera singer and interdisciplinary theater creator based in Tkarón:to (colonially known as Toronto, Canada). Teiya comes from a background of nearly 20 years of singing both traditional and contemporary operatic roles across Turtle Island and Europe including the Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte, Cio-Cio San Madama Butterfly, and the soprano solos in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem.
Their critically acclaimed operatic-play The Queen In Me declared as a “radical, innovative piece of operatic art” (Intermission Magazine) recently had a sold-out run at the National Arts Centre, and has played at the Belfast International Arts Festival, Meridian Arts Centre in Ontario, Canadian Opera Company (world premiere), and will begin its west coast tour starting with Opera Kelowna in 2025. This summer will also mark the world premiere of a new opera by Leslie Uyeda, Silence, with Teiya in the title role for Nuova Vocal Arts in Edmonton.
In his practice Teiya explores the intersections of identity through reimagining the operatic and classical music canon in works such as the iterative Butterfly Project, Little Mis(s)gender (in development with Queer AF Collective, UofT Bonham Centre Artist-in-Residence 2021-2022), and Dichterliebe: Whose Love?, among others. He recently launched an autoethnographic multidisciplinary series Project T about his vocal transition at New York’s ChamberQUEER festival in 2024, with the latest performance in Toronto this past spring.
Teiya is a co-founder of Amplified Opera, an artistic associate with Confluence Concerts, and a member of Fractal Arts Collective with Debi Wong (Founding Artistic Director of re:Naissance Opera) and poet/librettist Luke Hathaway. He is the recipient of the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Music from the Canada Council for the Arts. For more information visit www.teiyakasahara.com or follow @teiyakasahara.
David Eliakis (he/him) – Pianist
Passionate about the hidden gems of music, pianist David Eliakis thrives on uncovering lesser-known works and composers waiting to be discovered. With an ear for the unique and a love for the classics, he enjoys reinterpreting timeless songs, breathing new life into beloved melodies.
His performances have taken him to the stages of Brazil, Switzerland (World Economic Forum), England (as a finalist in the Wigmore Hall Song Competition), Northern Ireland, Germany, New York, and across Canada as pianist and musical director for Against The Grain Theatre’s national tour of La Bohème.
A recipient of the Ontario Arts Council Chalmers Award, David had the honour of studying privately with Warren Jones (Manhattan School of Music) in New York City, as well as working with Julius Rudel, Sir Martin Isepp, Dalton Baldwin, Graham Johnson, and Roger Vignoles.
A faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Music, David has also collaborated with Tapestry Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Opera In Reach, and Amplified Opera in numerous performances of “The Queen in Me” with Teiya Kasahara, including performances at the Belfast International Arts Festival, and the National Arts Centre. He was also the host and curator of Against The Grain Theatre’s monthly Opera Pub for five years.
As a lecturer he speaks passionately about under-represented composers and works, as well as singers of past generations. He was also featured as a guest speaker and Q&A panelist at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of Maria by Callas and Maria starring Angelina Jolie.
Andrea Donaldson (she/they) – Co-Director
RECENT: Mad Madge (Nightwood Theatre with VideoCabaret), Queen In Me (Canadian Opera Company/Amplified Opera/Nightwood Theatre/Theatre Gargantua) Canadian Opera Company Theatre, Greenwin Theatre, Belfast International Arts Festival; Every Day She Rose, Grace, Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells), Quiver (Nightwood Theatre); Betrayal (Soulpepper Theatre Company); Beautiful Man (Factory Theatre); A Beautiful View (Festival Players); Sequence, Soliciting Temptation, Within the Glass (Tarragon Theatre); Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare in the Ruff); Mistatim (Red Sky Performance); Montparnasse (Theatre Passe Muraille). UPCOMING: Mad Madge (Nightwood Theatre) ADDITIONAL CREDITS: Artistic Director at Nightwood Theatre in Toronto.
Aria Umezawa (she/her) – Co-Director
With her quirky, irreverent style, Aria Umezawa (she/her)’s work evokes wonder and challenges the long-established traditions of opera and classical music. The stage director, producer, and writer is a co-founder of Amplified Opera, the independent, equity-seeking opera company and former Disruptor-in-Residence at the Canadian Opera Company. Aria was the Artistic Director of Opera 5 from 2012-17. Recent and upcoming engagements include Toshio Hosokawa’s The Raven with Opera Philadelphia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Vancouver Opera, Madama Butterfly with New Orleans Opera, and a new production of L’incoronazione di Poppea with the Atelier Lyrique at l’Opéra de Montréal. An advocate for safe, equitable practices in the opera and performing arts industries, Aria is in demand as a presenter and educator. In 2018 she developed Safe to Run: Bystander Intervention Training for the Rehearsal Room with Opera McGill and the San Francisco Opera Center, and has run the workshop at opera companies across North America.
