AQUARIUS

SONGS OF THE STARS

April 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 2025 | Zeidler Dome at Telus World of Science | Varied times

Aquarius: Songs of the Stars invited audiences on a celestial journey through myth, memory, and music — all under the shimmering night sky of the Zeidler Dome.

Directed by Sawyer Craig and conducted by Simon Rivard, this original production blended stunning live performance with immersive dome projections to explore the stories written in the stars. With music arranged by Claude Lapalme, performed by a chamber ensemble, soloists Miriam Khalil and Jin Yu, narrator John Ullyatt, and the Edmonton Opera Chorus, Aquarius brought ancient constellations to life through a modern operatic lens.

From Polaris to Pleiades, Ursa Major to Icarus, Aquarius reimagined the night sky as a place where memory and imagination meet — and where every constellation carries a song.

Photos by Nanc Price


SONGS OF THE STARS

“Un bel di vedremo”
From Madama Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini

“The Humming Chorus”
From Madama Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini

“Pierrot’s Tanzlied”
From Die tote Stadt
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

“Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine”
By Eric Whitacre
Text by Charles Anthony Silvestri

Quartet for the End of Time
Mvt. 6.- “Danse de la fureur, pour les Sept trompettes”

Olivier Messaien

“Vincent”
By Don McLean
Arr. by Timothy Allen

“Mesícku na nebi hlubokém”
From Rusalka
Antonin Dvořàk

“Nuit d’etoiles”
By Claude Debussy
Text by Theodore de Banville

“Ain’t it a Pretty Night”
From Susannah
Carlisle Floyd

“Goodnight Moon”
By Eric Whitacre
Text by Margaret Wise Brown

“Odu mein holder Abendstern”
From Tannhäuser
Richard Wagner

“Let Beauty Awake”
By Ralph Vaughan Williams
Text by Robert Louis Stevenson

“Stars”
From Les Miserable
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Alain Boublil
Herbert Kretzmer

“Alto la! Chi va la?”
From Falstaff
Giuseppe Verdi


Simon Rivard (Conductor), Edmonton Opera Orchestra Ensemble, Edmonton Opera Chorus

Jin Yu (Baritone)

John Ullyatt (Narrator)

Edmonton Opera Orchestra Ensemble

Miriam Khalil (Soprano)

Miriam Khalil (Soprano)

John Ullyatt (Narrator)

Jin Yu (Baritone)
John Ullyatt (Narrator)

Edmonton Opera Chorus

John Ullyatt (Narrator)
Miriam Khalil (Soprano)

Jin Yu (Baritone)
John Ullyatt (Narrator)

Edmonton Opera Chorus
Simon Rivard (Conductor)
Edmonton Opera Orchestra Ensemble


CREATIVES

Sawyer Craig
Director

Claude Lapalme
Music Arranger

Simon Rivard
Conductor

Shannon Hiebert
Chorus Director

ARTISTS

Miriam Khalil
Soprano

Jin Yu
Baritone

John Ullyatt
Narrator

EDMONTON OPERA ORCHESTRA ENSEMBLE

Laura Veeze
Violin & Leader of the Edmonton Opera Orchestra Ensemble  

Sarah Moon
Flute

Dongkyun An
Cello 

.

Maria Kiki
Piano 

Antonin Cuerrier
Clarinet

STAGE MANAGEMENT

Hunter Luth
Stage Manager

Anna Davidson
Assistant Stage Manager

Ryan MacAuley
Apprentice Stage Manager