Hello Gentlemen,
It's Asian Nicole. Tuesday night, my darling opera professor invited me to see a very special opera-- 'Louis Riel' (from APRIL 20 TO MAY 13, 2017) at the Four Season Centre. Why is this opera special? Because it is about Canadian history, it was a contentious and provocative "celebratory" work. It is an artifact of its time, and demands significant context in a contemporary revival.
Louis Riel was the first opera written by a Canadian to be presented by the Canadian Opera Company. Composed by Harry Somers and libretto by Mavor Moore for our nation’s centennial in 1967, this uniquely Canadian contribution to the opera world returns on the work’s 50th anniversary, and will help mark the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation. The Canadian Opera Company has joined with Canada’s National Arts Centre to proudly present this new production of Louis Riel. The story of Louis Riel is told in this landmark work.
Louis Riel (22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to preserve Métis rights and culture as their homelands in the Northwest came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence. Over the decades, he has been made a folk hero by the Francophones, the Catholic nationalists, the native rights movement, and the New Left student movement. Riel has received more scholarly attention than practically any other figure in Canadian history.
"My people will sleep for 100 years and when they wake, it will be the artists who give them back their souls"--Louis Riel, 1885
Riel's historical reputation has long been polarized between portrayals as a dangerous half-insane religious fanatic and rebel against the Canadian nation, or by contrast a heroic rebel who fought to protect his Francophone people from the unfair encroachments of an Anglophone national government. He is increasingly celebrated as a proponent of multiculturalism, although that downplays his primary commitment to Métis nationalism and political independence.
In the last 50 years, although the opera has held a central place in the Canadian operatic canon, it has not been professionally revived since 1975. For Somers and Moore, defining history of struggle and representation in Canada's west against colonialist objectives is not only a metaphor for the conflicts which forged the idea of confederation, but also serves as a cautionary reminder for present and future understandings of Canada.
2017 marks the sesquicentennial of the Confederation of Canada, and the demands of Riel's history remain ever more important as we reckon with current injustices and the necessary process of "Truth and Reconciliation."
Wow...Thanks so much once again for the wonderful opera show, my darling opera professor! This year is the 150th anniversary of Canada, and I was so glad that I saw this show. It also enriched my knowledge of Canadian history.
It's Asian Nicole. Tuesday night, my darling opera professor invited me to see a very special opera-- 'Louis Riel' (from APRIL 20 TO MAY 13, 2017) at the Four Season Centre. Why is this opera special? Because it is about Canadian history, it was a contentious and provocative "celebratory" work. It is an artifact of its time, and demands significant context in a contemporary revival.
Louis Riel was the first opera written by a Canadian to be presented by the Canadian Opera Company. Composed by Harry Somers and libretto by Mavor Moore for our nation’s centennial in 1967, this uniquely Canadian contribution to the opera world returns on the work’s 50th anniversary, and will help mark the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation. The Canadian Opera Company has joined with Canada’s National Arts Centre to proudly present this new production of Louis Riel. The story of Louis Riel is told in this landmark work.
Louis Riel (22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to preserve Métis rights and culture as their homelands in the Northwest came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence. Over the decades, he has been made a folk hero by the Francophones, the Catholic nationalists, the native rights movement, and the New Left student movement. Riel has received more scholarly attention than practically any other figure in Canadian history.
"My people will sleep for 100 years and when they wake, it will be the artists who give them back their souls"--Louis Riel, 1885
Riel's historical reputation has long been polarized between portrayals as a dangerous half-insane religious fanatic and rebel against the Canadian nation, or by contrast a heroic rebel who fought to protect his Francophone people from the unfair encroachments of an Anglophone national government. He is increasingly celebrated as a proponent of multiculturalism, although that downplays his primary commitment to Métis nationalism and political independence.
In the last 50 years, although the opera has held a central place in the Canadian operatic canon, it has not been professionally revived since 1975. For Somers and Moore, defining history of struggle and representation in Canada's west against colonialist objectives is not only a metaphor for the conflicts which forged the idea of confederation, but also serves as a cautionary reminder for present and future understandings of Canada.
2017 marks the sesquicentennial of the Confederation of Canada, and the demands of Riel's history remain ever more important as we reckon with current injustices and the necessary process of "Truth and Reconciliation."
Wow...Thanks so much once again for the wonderful opera show, my darling opera professor! This year is the 150th anniversary of Canada, and I was so glad that I saw this show. It also enriched my knowledge of Canadian history.
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