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  • About COR
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Canadian Opera Resource
Canadian Opera Resource
COR
Operas
Of the Sea
Content warning: descriptions of enslavement, violence, sexual violence, death

A father will do anything to save his daughter. Of the Sea follows the story of Maduka, his daughter Binyelum, and fellow Africans thrown overboard during the Middle Passage who now populate mythical underwater kingdoms that span the ocean floor. Amidst the waves, ...
Composer: Ian Cusson
Librettist: Kanika Ambrose

Of the Sea
The Two Graces
The night before her birthday, an aging Queen Elizabeth I catches an intruder in her boudoir. It turns out to be none other than her arch-nemesis Grace O’Malley, Irish pirate and chieftain, come to reclaim her seized ship and her trampled rights. A comedic opera about power and politics, destiny and desire, and how hard it is to be a woman at th...
Composer: Sean Ferguson
Librettist: Alexis Diamond

The Two Graces
The Two Graces
The Call of the Light
Content warning: gun violence, death, mass shooting

In the Blue Room of the Quebec National Assembly, Denis Lortie kills and wounds people with a submachine gun as a protest against Quebec sovereignty.
Composer: Iman Habibi
Librettist: Bobby Theodore

The Call of the Light
The Call of the Light
Shanawdithit
Content warning: colonial violence, colonialsm, death, illness

1828, Notre Dame Bay, on the northeast shore of Newfoundland. William Cormack, an explorer and anthropologist, has recently created the Beothuk Institute: an organization designed to prevent the extinction of the original inhabitants of the island. After learning that a Beothuk wo...
Composer: Dean Burry
Librettist: Yvette Nolan

Shanawdithit
TAP:EX Forbidden
Content warning: sexual violence, incarceration, religious abuse, homophobia, conversion therapy

Through several vignettes, Forbidden examines the idea of rules and taboos. Do they protect people, or do they control them? Are they of any value, or do they simply exploit the powerless?

A young girl, punished with repetition of religious tex...
Composer: Afarin Mansouri
Librettist: Donna-Michelle St. Bernard

TAP:EX Forbidden
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Excerpts
Shanawdithit – “These last few months” (aria)

Cormack presents his findings about Shanawdithit to the members of the Beothuk institute.

The Two Graces – The Two Graces

Irish pirate Chieftain Grace O'Malley sneaks into the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and convinces the Queen to give her back her ship and free her lover. In return Grace will attend the Queen's birthday celebration and cause a sensation - which delights Liz.

The Two Graces – “Oh, to belong to the sea” (aria)

Queen Liz imagines what it would be like to be free.

The Call of the Light – The Call of the Light

In the Blue Room of the Quebec National Assembly, Denis Lortie kills and wounds people with a submachine gun as a protest against Quebec sovereignty.

Shanawdithit – Scene 7

Her health fading, Shanawdithit wonders if she’ll be welcomed into the spirit world after so much time with the colonists. Cormack tells her he must leave, and Shanawdithit gives him a sketch of his house to carry with him. He leaves the room to pack. Shanawdithit hears the spirits of her people calling her name. It is time. One spirit in par...

Shanawdithit – Scene 5: Salmon, Seal, Caribou

Shanawdithit describes the last days of her family as they were pushed from their land and then hunted. She asks Cormack not to speak of their death, but of their life. Cormack is ecstatic and gets lost in the memories Shanawdithit paints. She breaks his reverie with the cold fact that the life she speaks of will never happen again. She colla...

Shanawdithit – Scene 4

The taking of Demasduit weighs heavy on Shanawdithit’s heart. Cormack, unsure of what to do, tries to comfort her, saying Demasduit was treated well. Shawnadithit asks if white people actually care about her people, her story, because Cormack’s words are betrayed by the actions of his fellows, and indeed, his own. Cormack insists he will ensu...

Shanawdithit – Scene 2

Cormack’s study in St. John’s, now Shanawdithit’s room. “Nancy April” reveals she can speak English quite well, and tells Cormack her real name: Shanawdithit. Cormack asks her where the rest of her people are, where her home is. Shanawdithit says simply: they are no more. Shanawdithit reflects on the loss of her people and the taking of her a...

Shanawdithit – “What? A man?” (aria)

Shanawdithit reprimands Cormack for his saviour complex.

Shanawdithit – “Out of this world” (aria)

Shanawdithit, dying, speaks to her ancestors. She is ready to leave this world.

TAP:EX Forbidden – Epilogue

Lucifer rebuilds the cage, then tries to convince the audience to join him in self-exile.

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 2, Scene 7: “Enlightenment”

The Child creates her own book from pages of other books. She hands out her new rules to the audience.

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 2, Scene 6: “With His Serenity (Falun Dufa)”

A watcher looks over a group of faithful. His irritation turns to hatred as he accuses them of subversion. He claims to have proof hidden in some papers, but the Child has destroyed them. The Child proclaims “I know what to do,” and the tension between authority and people escalates. The Child begins taking pages and notes from all the surrou...

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 2, Scene 5: “Power Shift”

Lucifer is enraged at the unfairness put upon him. The Child sees, and has an idea. Perhaps the system should be broken. When Lucifer realizes the Child has seen his truth, he tries to hide his emotions.

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 2, Scene 3: “In the Maze of Prison”

The Child questions Lucifer’s role as tempter, while he tempts with growing intensity. He chastises the Child for bowing to authority. She erupts in anger, pushing the books aside and leaving the cage.

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 1, Scene 8: “Eat Anything”

The Child is allowed out of her cage, with a warning she can have anyting she wants except for one thing. She asks what it might be, and in a Kafka-esque reply they say, “you know.”

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 1, Scene 6: “Book’s Lament”

A book pleads with the audience to be read. A rhythmic chorus rises. A tribute to the banned, the burned, and the hidden.

TAP:EX Forbidden – Act 1, Scene 5: “Go On, Get Out”

The Child is bored. She reads several books in an effort to learn all the things she shouldn’t do, say, feel, or see. Lucifer simply asks her why, attempting to get her attention on him instead of books. She finds a name, Iblis, and taunts him.

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