FAWN Chamber Creative to Release First Full-Length Album, L’homme et le ciel, on November 13
Toronto opera company FAWN Chamber Creative will release its first full-length album, L’homme et le ciel, on November 13, 2026.
The recording brings Hamilton-based composer Adam Scime’s four-scene opera to CD and digital formats through Vancouver label Redshift Records. Ian Koiter wrote the libretto, and the work features three vocalists, a six-piece ensemble and electronics.
Although the opera reached Toronto stages in 2015, this release gives listeners a recorded version of the work. It also marks FAWN’s first full-length album and, according to the announcement, Scime’s first full-length release.
Album details
- Release date: November 13, 2026
- Album: L’homme et le ciel, an opera in four scenes
- Composer and librettist: Adam Scime and Ian Koiter
- Label and formats: Redshift Records; CD and digital
- Listen and pre-order: Official album page
A Four-Scene Story About Desire And Perception
L’homme et le ciel takes its starting point from The Shepherd of Hermas, a second-century text about visions and moral uncertainty. Its central character, Hermas, is an enslaved man navigating difficult feelings about the woman who owns him.
That woman, Rhoda, appears in his thoughts and dreams. Later, a mysterious Messenger confronts Hermas with questions about his desires and how he understands himself.
Across four scenes, memory, imagination and reality become harder for Hermas to separate. The adaptation takes a secular approach to its ancient source, keeping the focus on his internal conflict.
It is an opera about the choices people make when what they want clashes with what they believe. The story gives Scime’s music plenty of room to shift alongside Hermas’s thinking.
How The Score Tells The Story
Scime combines three voices with chamber instruments and electronics. His writing moves between dense, restless passages and more open textures, echoing the changes in Hermas’s thoughts.
The instrumentation includes flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin and cello. Instead of a large orchestra, the recording uses individual timbres and contrasts to move the drama forward.
The album’s tracklist contains seven tracks arranged around four scenes. Scene 2 appears in two parts, with two electronic interludes titled Vision 1 and Vision 2.
That structure gives the electronic passages their own place in the recording. The first scene is already available to preview ahead of the November release.
The Vocal Cast And Toronto Musicians
Baritone Clarence Frazer performs Hermas. Soprano Alexandra Smither sings Rhoda, while mezzo-soprano Xin Wang takes the role of the Messenger.
Violinist Leslie Ting and cellist Amahl Arulanandam join flautist Sara Constant in the chamber ensemble. Clarinettist Anthony Thompson, percussionist Nathan Petitpas and pianist Wesley Shen complete the group.
Several performers have connections to Toronto’s contemporary music community, including Thin Edge New Music Collective. Their collaboration places the recording firmly within the local new-music scene.
FAWN founder Amanda Smith served as dramatic coach and dramaturg. The team recorded the album at Revolution Studios in Toronto, with Luke Schindler handling recording and mixing.
A Toronto Opera Returns As a Recording
FAWN developed L’homme et le ciel through workshops before presenting its full stage production with The Music Gallery in December 2015. The company’s history with the work stretches back more than a decade.
The original staging featured a different vocal cast: Alexander Dobson, Larissa Koniuk and Adanya Dunn. The 2026 album presents a fresh interpretation by Frazer, Smither and Wang rather than a recording of that performance.
Founded by Amanda Smith, FAWN has presented contemporary opera and projects that bring music together with theatre and other art forms. The collective’s catalogue includes collaborations with Canadian composers and artists.
Scime has also worked as FAWN’s music director. This album brings together a work he helped develop for the stage and a new recorded performance by Canadian artists.
Where To Listen to L’homme Et Le Ciel
Redshift Records plans to release L’homme et le ciel on November 13, 2026, in digital and CD formats. Its Bandcamp listing currently offers a digital pre-order starting at CA$10, alongside a preview of Scene 1.
For listening and ordering updates, visit the official Redshift album listing. More on the collective’s productions is available through FAWN Chamber Creative.
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