The Pencil Salesman

Digital Concert at The Barn, premiering on YouTube in June 2022

A video premiere of Westben’s 2016 world premiere production of Brian Finley’s full-length opera, complete with NEW animations by bekky O’Neil and Keith Del Principe- online for a limited time only!

The story, briefly:

“All is rosy with Boris Ball. The patriarch of a family of inventors, Boris lives blissfully in the past, in the beloved company of his deceased wife Rose and his prize invention, the Personal Touch Typewriter. But ever cynical of the frenzied world of technological advancement swirling dizzily around him, Boris becomes increasingly oblivious to the challenges ripping his family apart. It is up to a wayward pencil salesman who draws him into the present by introducing him to someone he never knew: his own granddaughter.” The story was influenced greatly by the work of Sherry Turkle from MIT, Neil Postman, and others; I created both the libretto and the music.

The piece features 9 principals, chorus and chamber orchestra. Our production was directed by Michael Mori (Tapestry Opera), and designed by Caroline Langill (Associate Dean at OCAD University). It featured a wonderful cast which included John Fanning (Boris Ball), Donna Bennett (his deceased wife Rose), Alexander Dobson (the Pencil Salesman) Virginia Hatfield (Boris’s daughter-in-law, Daisy), Keith Klassen (Boris’s son), Bob Longo and Gabrielle Prata (Boris’s brother & sister-in-law) along with a chorus from our community. The 18-piece chamber orchestra was conducted by Dan Warren. The production was very well received, with good reviews in both Opera Canada and musicaltoronto.org. (“A welcome addition to the Canadian canon of contemporary music drama.”).