Ian Rye + Jaime Martino
IAN RYE: So did you come to opera because of a connection to Tapestry or because you were drawn to the company?
JAIME MARTINO: I was drawn to the company. I was looking around for my next move but nothing excited me the way that Tapestry excited me. It was the emphasis on the contemporary grounding of that work, the acknowledgement that works are created in a particular time and place. And by acknowledging that, you open up more interesting stories. It was the company’s ethos that drew me in. I love the work that we do and it has opened the door to all kinds of opera appreciation, but what I think remains true to me is that I’m here for Tapestry.
I: And isn’t that exciting? Each of our organizations, and Tapestry most certainly, has missions that are unique to their place, and their time, and their people. What’s exciting, from my perspective, is that artists from all sorts of disciplines are drawn to opera—and not always through their exposure to the art form or their fascination with classical voice. You’ve told the story of how you’ve come to opera through your passion for the performing arts, your insights as a dancer, your life as a queer arts administrator, and found that Tapestry held an ethos or mission that you could latch onto. You may say that you’re attached to Tapestry more than opera but I think it’s exciting that opera as an art form can attract people like you.
J: I will say this for the sector, I see it changing in front of my eyes. I can’t imagine what it would look like for you, who has been in the industry longer than my measly four years.
Like so many people, I came to opera from a different angle as well. I started as a stagehand. My original background was as a lighting and sound technician. So as a production craftsperson and a technician, I discovered opera at the age of 19 at the Banff Centre. I had and Most major opera companies in North America produced these [particular stagings], they’ve had well over 100 companies produce the shows, they had these beautiful Susan Benson-designed productions, and I had the opportunity to build those sets in the inaugural production and perform in costume as one of the furniture movers. And I worked on a production of in my second year at Banff with Nic Muni, and the opportunity to work on a 20th-century opera that aligned more with my theatre interests in contemporary theatre and dance. I think it’s fun that we all find our way to this art form, and I think audiences find their way to this art form through indirect channels as well.
