Sophia’s Forest (2025)
Music by Lembit Beecher
Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch
Sophia’s Forest is a groundbreaking chamber opera by composer Lembit Beecher and Canadian librettist Hannah Moscovitch, that delves deep into the inner life of a young immigrant girl, Sophia, as she navigates the haunting memories of a childhood scarred by civil war. This poignant opera captures her emotional journey with striking intimacy and raw power, blending traditional operatic storytelling with cutting-edge innovation.
What sets Sophia’s Forest apart is its multi-disciplinary approach. It merges live performances with contemporary technology, including a mesmerizing mechanical sound sculpture that becomes an integral part of the narrative, interacting with the singers and musicians. The fusion of acoustic and electronic soundscapes offers a profound exploration of memory, trauma, and healing, creating an immersive experience that resonates long after the final note.
Lauded by The New York Times for its stirring emotional impact, Sophia’s Forest promises to take audiences on a transformative journey, where the lines between past and present, reality and memory, blur into an evocative, deeply human story.
Dates
Thursday, May 29, 7:30 pm
Friday, May 30, 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 31, 7:30pm
Sunday, June 1, 2:00pm
Location
Studio T
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 W Hastings Street, Vancouver
Run Time
Approximately 60 minutes with no intermission
When Sophia’s mother dies, Sophia confronts half-forgotten traumas from her childhood. Sophia and her sister Emma grew up in a
war torn country. The two young girls cope with and escape their grim circumstances – the adult world of war, death and displacement
– through the lens of fairy tales. As the fighting draws nearer, the family is forced to flee their home and make a dangerous journey
into a forest. Sophia’s child’s-view version of their flight includes mystical horrors. As Sophia tries to protect her sister Emma from
the evil in the forest, she makes a fatal mistake that forever changes the course of their lives.