A COLLECTION OF FOUR OPERATIC SHORTS
The Wild Rose Opera Project is a series of four short operatic works that each explore mental health issues through characters with ties to the Alberta landscape. Librettist Royce Vavrek has collaborated with composers Ian Cusson, John Estacio, Vivian Fung and Bryce Kulak to create short works that will be premiered online beginning November 19, 2021.
This commission is made possible through the generous support of EPCOR’s Heart + Soul Fund.
“We are grateful to the Edmonton Opera and the many artists behind this project for your passion and hard work bringing this meaningful production to life,” said Jennifer Addison, Senior Vice President, Sustainability, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, EPCOR. “EPCOR created the Heart + Soul Fund because the arts are vital in connecting us through unique experiences. This project and its focus on raising greater awareness and reducing stigma around mental illness is so important every day, and especially during these times.”
More information about the Heart + Soul Fund may be found here.
INDIANS ON VACATION
A micro-adaptation of Thomas King’s recent Indians on Vacation, the novel chronicles the Prague vacation of a contemporary Indigenous couple. The short opera uses three scenes to create a musical portrait of the protagonist, Bird, as he confronts his inner demons.
Music by Ian Cusson
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Based on the novel by Thomas King
Bird | Evan Korbut
Mimi | Marion Newman
The Demons:
Kitty, catastrophe | Isabel Davis
Didi, depression | Lesley Dolman
Desi, despair | Taylor Fawcett
Eugene, self-loathing | Martin Galba
Chip, grudge | Elliot Harder
Conductor | Cosette Justo Valdés
Pianist | Leanne Regehr
PremiereS
Friday, November 19, 2021
7:30pm MST
Streaming on Edmonton Opera’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and FavaTV’s Studio 19.
Front: Marion Newman (Mimi), Evan Korbut (Bird). Back: Isabel Davis, Lesley Dolman, Taylor Fawcett, Martin Galba, Elliot Harder (The Demons)
GROVER AND FRIENDS | ALARM
Two Operatic scenes based on a true story
A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER
“Grover and Friends and Alarm are two scenes based on family oral history I gathered during the spring of 2021.
My extended family–including my maternal grandmother, uncles, aunts, and cousins–lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the 1970s as part of the overseas Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. They were there quite happily, in fact, until shortly before the Khmer Rouge stormed the capital in April 1975 and drove everyone out. My family miraculously survived an arduous journey – over a month on foot in the countryside of Cambodia, and then in Vietnam. Ultimately, they ended up in Paris and Canada, but those events changed the course of my family forever. I also was born in 1975, and even though I was born and raised in Canada, my birth and childhood were deeply affected by omnipresent anxiety and uncertainty over my family’s situation and safety.
Only recently have I been able to piece together more completely my family history and how it affected my family members' subsequent lives. I went to visit Cambodia for the first time in 2019 with my family–parents, son, and husband–and with some detective work, we were able to find my family’s former home and the hospital that my aunt ran, still standing all these years later but now abandoned. I look forward to returning and to continuing to understand more about their past.
Many thanks to Royce Vavrek for his wonderful text and his intuitive grasp of what my family went through.”
— Vivian Fung
Music by Vivian Fung
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Soprano | Xin Wang
Percussionist | Ryan Scott
PremiereS
Friday, November 26, 2021
7:30pm MST
Streaming on Edmonton Opera’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and FavaTV’s Studio 19.
FARMER AND DOG
A gay farmer deals with a depression born out of loneliness, but finds his outlook improve through the devotion of his beloved farm dog who watches as he comes to terms with his identity.
Music by John Estacio
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Dog | Megan Latham
Farmer | Peter Monaghan
Pianist | Leanne Regehr
PremiereS
Friday, December 3, 2021
7:30pm MST
Streaming on Edmonton Opera’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and FavaTV’s Studio 19.
BADLANDS
A woman visits the Badlands and recalls childhood memories of her mother, now suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. An operatic portrait of generations of caregiving.
Music by Bryce Kulak
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Daughter | Catherine Daniel
Pianist | Leanne Regehr
PremiereS
Friday, December 10, 2021
7:30pm MST
Streaming on Edmonton Opera’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and FavaTV’s Studio 19.
