“Something strange happens when you pass your work along to another artist for interpretation. It goes away a relative and comes back a stranger. Lines of dialogue I had written in my graphic novel, now spoken or sung by actors, were odd and moving. I could suddenly recognize from what wellspring of emotion they had originated in me. A truly moving experience.”—Seth
Seth’s acclaimed graphic novel George Sprott has now inspired a modern opera by artistic director and musician Mark Haney. Captured on a classic vinyl record with sumptuous and over-the-top design by Seth, Omnis Temporalis: A Visual Long-Playing Record is part chamber music, part song cycle, and part audio drama. Haney’s unique project builds on Seth’s original picture novella while standing alone as a musical triumph.
Omnis Temporalis remixes elements of Seth’s George Sprott to bring the main character and several other residents of Dominion to life, telling a story of time, memory, loss, and the ties that bind. Featuring acclaimed TV and voice actor Richard Newman as George and soprano Dory Hayley as Daisy, the cast also includes many of Canada’s best-known stage and TV actors.
In 2011 Haney approached Seth for permission to use the critically acclaimed George Sprott: 1894-1975 as the basis for the new work. Seth enthusiastically embraced the project and their ongoing dialogue resulted in this collaboration. Notably, Seth designed an immersive cartoon space of the television station, CKCK, where George Sprott hosted his local television show, Northern Hi-Lights, for over 20 years in the fictional town of Dominion City.
The trio of alto flute, cello, and double bass create a musical palette on which the dialogue and songs float in an ethereal, atmospheric narrative that traces parts of George’s life as we accompany him through the last day of his life.