A production photograph from Pacific Opera Victoria's Flight with a character dressed as an airport worker pushing a baggage cart across the stage. Text overlaid says "Check your baggage. You need a mid-winter escape."

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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A collage of three Pacific Opera Victoria's Flight production photographs with quotes overlaid, that read: "Dove's writing...is fabulous" - Opera Canada, "The greatest new work of the past 30 years" - Allyson McHardy, and "Flight is, in short, a delight" - Times Colonist
Pacific Opera Victoria’s Flight 2020. Sharleen Joynt, William Towers, John Robert Lindsey, Jacqueline Woodley, Kimy McLaren, John Brancy, Allyson McHardy, Emilia Boteva. 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.

Conductor & Director

Les Dala
Leslie Dala

Conductor

Morris Panych

Director

Cast

Cameron Shahbazi

Refugee (Company Debut)

Caitlin Wood

Controller

Asitha Tennekoon

Bill

Andriana Chuchman

Tina (Company Debut)

Megan Latham

Older Woman

Alex Hetherington

Stewardess (Company Debut)

Clarence Frazer

Steward

Neil Craighead

Minskman

Stephanie Tritchew

Minskwoman

Henry Chen

Immigration Officer

Creative Team

Set Designer Ken MacDonald Costume Designer Dana Osborne Lighting Designer Alan Brodie Projection Designer Keith Houghton Assistant Conductor Kelly Lin Appears courtesy of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership Program Assistant Director & Intimacy Captain Tayte Mitchell Assistant Lighting Design Hina Nishioka Sound + Video Consultant Craig Alfredson Intimacy Director Lisa Goebel

Fight Director Nicholas Harrison Principal Répétiteur Tina Chang Répétiteurs Perri Lo Derek Stanyer Stage Manager Theresa Tsang Assistant Stage Managers Marijka Asbeek Brusse Michelle Harrison Apprentice Stage Manager Rachel E. Ross SurTitles™ Creation Teresa Turgeon SurTitles™ Editor + Operator Sarah Jane Pelzer

Synopsis

The Story in Three Sentences

Without official documents, the Refugee has been stuck in an airport for several weeks. In his search for help, he meets a colourful cast of characters who are all in their own way at dramatic in-between points in life. A storm grounds all flights, and as the stalled travellers camp out in the terminal overnight, their stories hilariously intertwine, while the wishes they make on the Refugee’s (allegedly) magic rock bring out their complex and comic humanity.

Full Synopsis

The Flight Controller and a Refugee await the daily influx of travellers. The Controller has no use for people, but the Refugee lives in hope that someone might help him. He has no documentation and has been stuck in the airport for several weeks. Passengers begin to arrive. Bill and Tina, a young couple, are off on holiday, armed with a book on relationships to help them put some zest back into their marriage. A diplomat and his heavily pregnant wife are heading for a new posting in cold, boring Minsk. An Older Woman, twice-married, twice-divorced, has no plans to fly anywhere; she has come to the airport to wait for her fiancé, a 22-year-old barman she met on holiday in Majorca. The Steward and Stewardess are carrying on a steamy affair and grab every possible opportunity to get together in various corners of the terminal. At the last minute, the pregnant Minskwoman refuses to fly, and her husband departs without her. While everyone watches in awe as the plane takes off, the Minskwoman agonizes over her decision. The Refugee shows the others a special stone, telling them it has magical qualities if they believe in it; they scoff. When the Immigration Officer appears, the Refugee begs them all to help him, to hide him. Despite their sympathy for his predicament, the travellers refuse to get involved. They have journeys to begin. Then the Controller announces that storms are coming and all flights are delayed indefinitely.

The travellers have camped out in the airport. The storm is getting worse. As they bicker about their love life, Tina accuses Bill of being predictable. The Older Woman chats with the Minskwoman and reminisces about walking along the beach with her fiancé – but wonders whether he will really show up for their rendezvous. The Controller goes outside and faces the storm; they shriek and roar together. As the others settle down to sleep, the Minskwoman searches through her bag, recalling how it used to hold frivolous, delicious, expensive things; now it is packed with baby things, and she dreads the tired, trapped woman she feels she will become. The Older Woman secretly approaches the Refugee and asks if his stone can create the miracle she needs in her life. He gives her the stone, says to make a wish, and tells her that in return she must help him when he asks. She wishes for her fiancé to come to her. Tina and Bill then accost the Refugee, who also gives them a stone. They make the same bargain; their wish is that Bill could be more adventurous. Then it is the turn of the Minskwoman to wish for freedom and a return to the life she once enjoyed; and of the Steward and Stewardess to wish to fly back up to the sky. The Controller observes, but refuses to join in the game. The Refugee makes his own wish – for his brother to arrive. Bill, determined not to be predictable, blurts out a proposition to the sleeping Stewardess, but is shocked to find he has actually made a pass at the Steward, who is not at all shocked, but takes Bill for a walk up to the control tower. The women begin drinking. They toast the Refugee, who is thrilled to have new friends. But when they figure out that he has given each of them a magic stone, they turn on him, furious at being duped. They throw their stones at him, knocking him unconscious. Then, panicking, they stuff his limp body into a trunk as the Controller laughs and Bill and the Steward exult in the control tower.

The weather has cleared. A plane lands. The Minskman disembarks and reunites lovingly with his wife. Tina sees that the Steward is wearing Bill’s trousers and demands an explanation. The men hem and haw, until Tina strikes Bill with the relationship manual and he falls unconscious. A moan comes from the trunk – and then from the Minskwoman as she goes into labour. She gives birth just as both Bill and the Refugee come to. Everyone crowds in wonder around the baby. Tina and Bill reconcile; so do the Steward and Stewardess. The Minskwoman begins to make joyful plans for the baby and all the things they’ll need in Minsk. When the Immigration Officer arrives and confronts the Refugee, the travellers try every trick they can think of to persuade the Officer to be lenient, but he is adamant. Then the Refugee tells the story of his own flight, and of his brother, for whom he is still waiting. The Officer tells the Refugee he cannot let him leave, but he will turn a blind eye to his presence in the airport.  The travellers depart; even the older woman is prepared to go on another holiday. The Refugee and the Controller are left alone together. The airport is his home now.

Full synopsis by Maureen Woodall, Pacific Opera Victoria

In the Media

Previews

“The work has a breezy style, unafraid of melody, with bright, vibrant orchestration and a sure-footed way with singers.” Vancouver Sun, Classical music: Bringing Jonathan Dove's bright, vibrant Flight to Vancouver Opera

Resources

Flight Sponsor

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