Single Tickets

Date
Sat, Feb 8 2025
Time
7:30PM
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Date
Thu, Feb 13 2025
Time
7:30PM
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Date
Sun, Feb 16 2025
Time
2:00PM
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Pacific Opera Victoria’s Flight 2020. Sharleen Joynt, Emilia Boteva, Allyson McHardy, John Robert Lindsey, Jacqueline Woodley, John Brancy, Kimy McLaren, William Towers. Photos: David Cooper Photography.

Overview

FLIGHT

(Opera in 3 Acts) Composed by Jonathan Dove Libretto by April de Angelis Premiered 1998 at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Presented under license by Peters Edition Limited, copyright owners. DATES February 8 – 16, 2025

VENUE Queen Elizabeth Theatre Vancouver, BC

RUNNING TIME Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one intermission. In the unlikely setting of an airport departure lounge, Jonathan Dove’s must-see modern masterpiece soars with comedy and compassion. From “the Mozart of the 21st century” comes a work of stunning emotional breadth. Though it draws inspiration from the heart-wrenching true story of an Iranian refugee bureaucratically marooned in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years, Jonathan Dove’s Flight pulls off an improbable feat: it’s a wildly-engaging, melodically-accessible comedy, a triumph of pathos, and an absolute must-see!

All around The Refugee, the airport swirls with colourful characters: Bill and Tina, who hope to stoke the embers of a dull marriage; The Steward and The Stewardess, whose embers require no additional stoking; a diplomat and his very pregnant wife; a woman awaiting a lover 30 years her junior; the Immigration Officer – all while The Controller oversees operations high above the concourse, hitting decidedly high notes (like the rare airspace occupied by an incredible F-sharp above high C!).

Called the greatest new work of the past 30 years, this compassionate contemporary classic is led by the beloved Vancouver creative team of director Morris Panych and set designer Ken MacDonald, while Dove’s propulsive music is steered by the baton of Leslie Dala, Vancouver Opera’s Head of Music and Associate Conductor, whose recent VO projects include 2022–2023’s The Flying Dutchman and the blockbuster 2023–2024 presentation of Carmen.

Cast & Creative

Les Dala
Leslie Dala

Conductor

Morris Panych

Director

Caitlin Wood

Controller

Andriana Chuchman

Tina (Company Debut)

Alex Hetherington

Stewardess (Company Debut)

Allyson McHardy

Minskwoman

Cameron Shahbazi

Refugee

Asitha Tennekoon

Bill

Clarence Frazer

Steward

Neil Craighead

Minskman

Henry Chen

Immigration Officer

Flight Sponsor

Vancouver Opera’s Flight is made possible through generous support from YVR