Canadian soprano Frédérique Vézina knew that taking on the role of Lillian Alling in the world premiere of a large-scale opera would bring some challenges. What she didn’t predict was that it would be such a gruelling physical workout.

Then again, Lillian Alling is no typical opera. It’s based around the true story of a Russian immigrant who arrives at New York City’s Ellis Island in the 1920s, and then, for reasons that are unclear today, crosses the continent on foot in an attempt to get back to her home country. By the time she reaches the late stages of her 4,000-kilometre-plus journey, she’s traversing B.C., with a stint in Oakalla Prison Farm and a trek through the treacherous wilds of Telegraph Trail between Quesnel and Hazelton.

“Lillian is very driven and she never stops, so I’m in every scene. I think I’m going to lose a few pounds,” says the Québécois singer with a smile, speaking to the Straight over a latte at a downtown café before morning rehearsals start at nearby Holy Rosary Cathedral. “It’s much more physical than other roles. Lillian Alling is a woman on a mission. We have a set with all these levels that I have to climb. I call it my StairMaster set.”

Alling’s seemingly impossible, brutally arduous journey is a perfect metaphor for the process of getting this production about her trip staged. The Vancouver Opera commissioned it three years ago from the Alberta-based writing team of librettist and respected playwright John Murrell and composer John Estacio, and the company finally premieres it this Saturday (October 16) at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, with subsequent performances October 19, 21, and 23. New, full-scale Canadian operas are few and far between, and speaking to the players in this project, you get the sense that everyone is keenly focused on an epic task—one that’s shrouded in the same mystery as the woman at the centre of the story.

Vézina, a rising star who earned raves as Mimi in Vancouver Opera’s La Bohème two seasons ago, admits the occasion is such a rarity that, as a young vocal student in Montreal, she never even considered the possibility that composers would write new operas—or that she might eventually star in one. Actually, she’s gone on to star in a few, including The Handmaid’s Tale at the Canadian Opera Company, and Murrell and Estacio’s own Filumena at the National Arts Centre.

“With traditional roles, there’s a lot to live up to—you’re kind of compared to others. But with something new, there’s even more pressure, because you really want to do your best to fulfill the vision that the librettist and composer had,” says Vézina, who admits she’s a “woman on a mission” herself, taking on this role while she has a nine-month-old baby. “You realize all of the passion that went into it. And then there’s the determination of the company and the producers, all these people for three years, probably even longer, and to finally see the result—it’s this huge path.”