The collaborators, librettist John Murrell and composer Bramwell Tovey have a demanding four years ahead of them. Murrell, veteran playwright and librettist of Filumena and Frobisher, also commissioned by Calgary Opera, has once again been inspired by a true story of operatic proportions. Murrell delights and excels in bringing Canadian history to the operatic stage.
    Well recognized and honoured for his sustained and successful participation as a writer and arts administrator, Murrell plans to explore the motivations that compelled a privileged, charming member of early maritime society to become a conman and risk everything in international intrigue. The Inventor titled after Alexander "Sandy" Keith’s constant reinvention of himself, has the potential to be an action-packed opera as it follows the dastardly deeds of this bigamist, brewer and bomber.
    Acting as unofficial Canadian consul to the Confederacy during the American civil war, Keith ran insurance scams and fleeced both sides of their investments. His last scheme involved unstable dynamite and intricate timing. When a ship he had rigged to explode did so while occupied rather than empty, as he intended, Keith unsuccessfully attempted suicide, lingering long enough to confess to his many misuses of people and property.
    Bramwell Tovey will compose the music. The renowned conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, jazz pianist and Juno Award-winning composer has been commissioned for work ranging from compulsory pieces in competitions to movie scores. Despite winning awards for these works, he cites his most significant compositions as his concertos for cello, concertos for viola, and his Requiem, which was written in response to the Kosovan War.
    Tovey has a long list of award-winning compositions, including ballets and a 2007 Genie nomination for the song “In a Heartbeat”.
    To accommodate his young family and a heavy schedule, Tovey rises at 6 a.m. and works for three hours on composing, then spends time with family before meeting the demands of his international conducting career. Tovey and Murrell are dovetailing their schedules and solidifying their concept over the next few months.
    Four years may seem like long time, but the process of creating an opera is manifold. Starting in December of this year, Calgary Opera will be holding five development workshops before the 2011 premiere. The workshops involve readings of the libretto by the opera’s actors. This comes even before Tovey begins composing. The workshops allow the composer to hear the characters speak, giving him insight into such subtleties as the cadence of their speech.
These workshops’ invited audiences will consist of friends of the opera such as donors, sponsors, media and interested members of the arts community for whom tracking the development process is on a par with the excitement of opening night. Along with the performers, they will provide feedback to the creative team. Once the libretto is set, designers for sets and costumes will be invited to join the creative team. About a year before the premiere, their designs will be constructed and sewn, and choral scores will be completed.
    Even if the opera could be written and constructed in the next six months, singers, musicians and conductors who are booked years in advance would not be available. Some singers seek out new works but even those risk takers want to be able to read the music and libretto before committing.
    The Inventor is the fifth commission that Calgary Opera has initiated in less than 10 years. This is more than any other Canadian opera company in such a short time span. During his eight-year tenure with Calgary Opera general director Bob McPhee has gently guided his board, staff and audiences. Once presenting only traditional operas, Calgary Opera now successfully mounts both new productions of classic operas and others commissioned by the company.