Opera Atelier: From Stage to Screen
Film direction, cinematography, editing, visual development, shot planning, and post-production.
What began as a ten-minute experimental short developed into a multi-year collaboration with Opera Atelier and two feature-length films. Each project expanded the visual language, planning, and production scale of the one before it, ultimately leading to ANGEL, a feature-length operatic film conceived specifically for the screen.
Behind the Scenes
Selected images from the production of ANGEL.
The Eye and Eye’s Delight
Before COVID, Marshall Pynkoski approached me to create a ten-minute short after we had already collaborated for several years. Made on a small budget with only a few lights and no camera team beyond me, The Eye and Eye’s Delight became our first experiment in translating Opera Atelier’s music and choreography from the stage to the screen.
Handel’s The Resurrection
The Resurrection was originally meant to be performed on stage, but COVID halted the production two weeks into rehearsal. With the creative trust Marshall and I had built through our earlier work, he proposed that we transform it into a film instead.
The music was recorded at Koerner Hall and the performance was later staged for the camera at St. Lawrence Hall, expanding our first short-form experiment into a feature-length operatic film.
The Resurrection Trailer
The Making of The Resurrection
A 25-minute documentary filmed and edited by Marcel Canzona.
ANGEL: Conceived for Film
After The Resurrection, Marshall wanted to go further. Instead of adapting another stage production, the next work would be created specifically for film. Months of development with Marshall Pynkoski and Gerard Gauci shaped ANGEL into a detailed visual production inspired by Paradise Lost.
The finished feature also incorporated The Eye and Eye’s Delight, bringing the original proof of concept into the larger film it helped make possible.
ANGEL Behind the Scenes
Behind-the-scenes film by Graeme Leung.
Credits
View full ANGEL credits
Cast
Colin Ainsworth
Mireille Asselin
Jesse Blumberg
Measha Brueggergosman
Meghan Lindsay
John Tibbetts
Douglas Williams
Artists of Atelier Ballet
Eric César de Mello da Silva
Tyler Gledhill
Juri Hiraoka
Elizabeth Kalashnikova
Kevin Law
Courtney Lyman
Kealan McLaughlin
Rebecca Moranis
Michael Spendlove
Cynthia Smithers
Julia Sedwick
Edward Tracz
Angel Wong
Dominic Who
Xi Yi
Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg
Tafelmusik
Elisa Citterio, Music Director
Elisa Citterio, Violin Soloist — Vivaldi / Richter
Edwin Huizinga, Violin Soloist — Huizinga
Patricia Ahern, Violin
Geneviève Gilardeau, Violin
Elizabeth Loewen Andrews, Violin
Michelle Odorico, Violin
Christopher Verrette, Violin
Julia Wedman, Violin
Cristina Zacharias, Violin
Brandon Chui, Viola
Patrick G. Jordan, Viola
Shannon Knights, Viola
Felix Deak, Viola da gamba / Violoncello
Keiran Campbell, Violoncello
Kerri McGonigle, Violoncello
Pippa Macmillan, Double Bass
Alison Mackay, Double Bass
John Abberger, Oboe
Marco Cera, Oboe
Dominic Teresi, Bassoon
Lucas Harris, Theorbo
Julia Seager-Scott, Clarsach / Triple Harp
Christopher Bagan, Harpsichord / Organ
Charlotte Nediger, Harpsichord
Naghmeh Farahmand, Percussion
The Nathaniel Dett Chorale
D. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, Founder / Artistic Director
Christina Faye, Collaborative Pianist
Sopranos
Justine Owen
Annie Ramos
Alison Ryan
Jonelle Sills
Karen Weigold
Altos
Jenna Cowans
Renee Fajardo
Alexandra Garrison
Ianjai Mounsey-Ndemo
Laurel Tubman
Creative Team
David Fallis, Conductor
Marshall Pynkoski, Stage Director
Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Choreographer
Gerard Gauci, Resident Set Designer / Art Director
Edwin Huizinga, Composer
Christopher Bagan, Associate Composer / Assistant Conductor
Marcel Canzona, Film Director / Editor / Director of Photography
Tyler Gledhill, Choreographer / Performer: Contemporary Solos
Grace Andreacchi, Translator
Michael Legouffe, Head of Wardrobe / Costume Designer
Michael Gianfrancesco, Costume Designer
Matthew Antal, Audio Production
Bruce Zinger, Resident Photographer
Stage Management
Melissa Rood, Production Stage Manager / Script Supervisor
Nan Shepherd, Assistant Stage Manager
Farnoosh Talebpour, Apprentice Stage Manager
Caitlin Mears, Apprentice Stage Manager
Kelsey Jensen, Rehearsal Assistant
Production Team
Barbara Szablowski, Make-Up Designer
Jacqueline Robertson-Cull, Wig Mistress
Carrie Cooley Barbour, Wardrobe Assistant
Pam Weston, Wardrobe Assistant
Leslie Norgate, Specialty Props
Erik Thor, Subtitles
Lindsay McDonald, Production Assistant
Caitlin Mears, Production Assistant
Terri Dans, Cutter
Lela Stairs, Sewer
Emma Pawluk, Sewer
Brandon Chui, Recording Session Producer
Joseph Jezioranski, Scaffolding Coordinator
Tamara Protic, Infection Control Monitor
Kathleen Jones, Infection Control Monitor
Film Crew
Marcel Canzona, Film Director / Director of Photography
Anna-Jane Edmonds, Assistant Director / Film Producer
Tom Mangin, 1st Assistant Camera
Jonathan Bragagnolo, 1st Assistant Camera
Carine Zahner, 1st Assistant Camera
Dan Poirier, 1st Assistant Camera
Vanesa Chow, Camera Operator
Matthew DaSilva, VTR / DIT
Vikkee Fernandez-Gabica, Gaffer
Nick Julian, Key Grip
Thomas Pardo, Best Boy Grip
John Ellis, Swing / Spotlight Operator
Josh Clapp, Coordinator
Jeric Tamayo, Production Assistant