1,000 Performers Bring R. Murray Schafer's APOCALYPSIS to Life at Luminato Festival This Weekend

This month, Luminato Festival presents Apocalypsis, the epic musical voyage written by acclaimed Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, in one of the largest performance events Toronto has ever seen. 1,000 performers from across Ontario create an empire of sound and movement under the direction of Lemi Ponifasio of MAU, with musical direction by Toronto conductor David Fallis (The Toronto Consort, Opera Atelier) and light by Helen Todd (MAU).

Featuring solo performances from multi-disciplinary artist Nina Arsenault, Tony Award-winner Brent Carver, dancer Denise Fujiwara, Polaris Prize-winner Tanya Tagaq, rising New Zealand opera star Kawiti Waetford, and the voice of renowned performance artist Laurie Anderson, the Luminato-commissioned production is on stage at the Sony Centre (1 Front St. E.) from June 26 to 28.

"The first time I listened to an excerpt of Apocalypsis I was absolutely moved. I had goosebumps all over, and I knew in that moment that we had to find a way to bring this piece back to life - this is exactly the kind of work Luminato Festival was founded to do," said Jorn Weisbrodt, Luminato Festival's Artistic Director.

Easily Schafer's most ambitious work, Apocalypsis ranks in size and scale to Gustav Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand, Arnold Schoenberg's Gurrelieder or Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Initially imagined as a way to create a grassroots community of performers and offer an alternative to classical music's dogma of highly trained musicians, Apocalypsis blends professional and amateur talents in its cast of 1,000 choir singers, musicians, conductors, actors, and dancers.

The piece is written as a celebration of life and hope. Music, text, and Schafer's signature soundscapes for instruments, tape, and voice are accentuated in the score by visual representations of the music that can be easily read by non-professional musicians. Accomplished conductor David Fallis will conduct close to 20 other conductors on stage, leading musicians and performers from across Ontario as Apocalypsis is performed in full for the first time since its world premiere in 1980.

"Schafer describes Apocalypsis in two parts: the first part is about the destruction of the universe and the second part is about the possibility of a new vision. We are at a point where we need a new vision as a human race and that is what Schafer's piece talks about," continued Weisbrodt. "Apocalypsis is going to be huge. It is the largest project we have ever done -- it might even be the largest project ever staged in Canada, but what I love about it is that it starts with each and every one of the performers. It is about building a community and creating a common experience, an act of cleansing and transformation. I think everyone will change going through this piece, the audience, the performers, the Festival - everyone who is touched by it."

The 1980 premiere, commissioned by the CBC and staged at Centennial Hall in London, ON, was explosive. The Toronto Star's William Littler called it "one of the most spectacular events in the history of Canadian music." The 2015 production marks the second time Ponifasio, a creator of original work with his company MAU, has ever staged someone else's work during a decades long career.

"There is no artist better suited to lead this production to life, to death, and to life again than Lemi Ponifasio," said Weisbrodt. "His work compels the audience to be part of the ritual of performance and that's what this really is: an apocalyptic ritual."

Returning to Luminato Festival after his 2014 debut with MAU's acclaimed dance piece, Stones in her Mouth, Ponifasio is working closely with Fallis to reimagine the production through a series of advance workshops detailing the complex musical needs of the piece as well as the choreography of hundreds of performers on stage at the same time.

"Apocalypsis is about us being open to what we cannot control. It is listening. It is a civic ceremony that expresses and celebrates who we are. It's a pilgrimage towards a revelation, towards light, towards silence. It calls us to engage in how to collectively find our way," explains director Lemi Ponifasio. "This production is an example of theatre as civic action - the coming together of different groups, of 1,000 performers to be part of a ritual. The moment you buy the ticket to performance, you have decided to be with the community in ceremony. You will think about what this work may mean. Community is not about an image of us all in harmony and speaking the same tongue. Community is a question and a challenge -- how do we find a common unity with all the interesting and important differences we have? This music holds a message -- it is a towering gift to humanity."

Part One, John's Vision, is a meditation on the world ending in chaos that explores the cataclysmic events of the final book of the bible. It is performed by a cast that includes five choruses, six instrumental ensembles, organ and electronics, eight soloists and 25 dancers led by six conductors under the direction of a principal conductor (Fallis). Via an original recording, Anderson gives voice to the part of John, danced on stage by Fujiwara; Arsenault plays the Whore of Babylon, Carver plays the AntiChrist, Tagaq plays the Old Woman and Waetford sings the part of Archangel Michael. The second part, Credo, follows a revolutionary ascension to order through a serene and ecstatic exploration of the majesty of God and the universe. Written for 12 mixed choirs, an orchestra of 12 string quartets, six double basses, and prepared tape, Part Two requires 12 conductors, again under the direction of principal conductor Fallis.

Performers include a wide range of artists and choirs with select musicians from the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), The Cecilia Quartet (Toronto), Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Exultate Chamber Singers (Toronto), Grand Philharmonic Choir (Kitchener), Da Capo Chamber Choir (Waterloo), St. James Cathedral Choir (Toronto), Musica Reflecta (Toronto), Cantores Celestes Women's Choir (Toronto), Seraphim Men's Chorus (Toronto), Hamilton Children's Choir, Pax Christi Chorale (Toronto), Ontario Youth Choir Alumni, Tallis Choir of Toronto, Univox Choir Toronto, Ottawa Bach Choir, The Element Choir (Toronto), Hannaford Youth (Toronto), Guelph Chamber Choir, Regent Park School of Music (Toronto), Toronto Chamber Choir, That Choir (Toronto) and more, with support from the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music.

Luminato Festival is offering 10 fellowships for string quartets to participate and perform in Apocalypsis under the mentorship of the renowned Cecilia Quartet and players from the National Arts Centre Orchestra. The fellowship includes a range of master classes, rehearsals, performances and an honorarium. For details on how to apply for a String Quartet Fellowship, click here.

Tickets for Apocalypsis start at $39, and are available to Luminato Insiders (sign up at luminatofestival.com) during a pre-sale on March 5. Tickets will be on sale to the general public on March 6 and can be purchased at luminatofestival.com or by calling the Luminato Festival Box Office at 416-368-4849 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Follow the festival on Twitter: @Luminato, Facebook: Luminato Festival, Instagram: @LuminatoFestival, Hashtag: #Luminato; #Apocalypsis.

Luminato Festival is Toronto's international multi-arts festival for people open to having art change their outlook on the world. For 10 days each June, Luminato Festival transforms Toronto's theatres, parks and public spaces with hundreds of events celebrating theatre, dance, music, literature, food, visual arts, magic, film, and more.

Luminato Festival is a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose vision is to commission and present significant local, national, and international programming that reflects Toronto as a crossroads of ideas, cultures and traditions. Now in its 9th year, Luminato Festival has become one of North America's leading arts festivals. The Luminato Festival runs June 19 to 28, 2015.

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