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1-8 of 8
- The Cipher Clerk is the third complete opera commissioned by Calgary Opera from composer John Estacio. This commission follows on the Calgary Opera world premieres of Estacio's operas Filumena and Frobisher. It is the opera's second collaboration with librettist Clem Martini and a continuation of a long-established relationship with director and dramaturg Glynis Leyshon. This workshop was the third and final workshop of The Cipher Clerk and the first workshop that included the music of the final act. The Cipher Clerk is the true story of events that took place in Ottawa at the end of World War II. Just as the war was ending, Igor Gouzenko, a clerk at the Soviet Embassy responsible for decoding secret missives from Moscow, happens to decode a letter that indicates his imminent fall from grace in the eyes of the Soviet Government. Gouzenko decides to save himself and his family by alerting the Canadian, American and British governments that Russia has been spying on the countries covertly, effectively initiating the Cold War.
- Vastation is a reconsideration of a previously composed opera. Samy Moussa's Vastation premiered in 2014 at Munich Biennial - a festival of contemporary opera and music theatre. Moussa, still in his 20s when he wrote the piece, was not entirely satisfied with this first venture into composing opera. Having established his reputation internationally in the intervening years as well as growing as a composer, this workshop was a chance to reassess the composition with consideration to revision for future productions. Vastation is an examination of power - democratic, military and personal - and the forces that seek to corrupt them.
- Namwayut is a word in Kwak'wala, the language of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples from northern Vancouver Island, smaller surrounding islands and adjacent mainland BC in Canada, meaning "we are all one". The piece grew out of Canadian opera singer and dramaturg Marion Newman's artistic impulse to conceptualize and create an opera under Indigenous leadership in an entirely new way. This project was a collaboration of singers, composers, a librettist and musicians, that allowed each artist's voice to be heard and held with respect, equal weight and a sense of community. Working in this new way, they planted the seeds of an operatic work based on elements from the oral history of First Nations storytelling that celebrates the resilience of Indigenous peoples and their enduring connection to the land.
- Arriving at the Fire is a compositional experiment pairing the inspiration of Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy and librettist Paula Wing. Murphy is a well-established voice in the orchestra, choral and chamber music world. Wing is a playwright fixture of the Canadian theatre scene. Together, they are tackling the operatic format to find out for themselves if their gifts translate into compelling operatic storytelling. With the working title of Arriving at the Fire, this is an excerpt developed for consideration of a full-length opera based on the story of a charismatic new-age spiritual guru who leads his disciples down a dangerous path.