Soundstreams Brings Cree Opera to The North
Posted: March 25, 2009
[Toronto, March 25th, 2009.] Lawrence Cherney, Artistic Director of Soundstreams announced today the Northern Ontario tour of the Cree opera Pimooteewin: The Journey. In February of 2008 Soundstreams Canada broke new creative ground with the World Premiere of the first opera written in the Cree. This spring, Soundstreams brings Pimooteewin: The Journey to communities across Northern Ontario, with a full compliment of education and community outreach activities. From April 27th to May 15th, the Soundstreams production will visit Timmins, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Moosonee, and Moose Factory. Pimooteewin: The Journey features a libretto by internationally celebrated author Tomson Highway, and music by award-winning Canadian composer Melissa Hui. Renowned Cree actor, choreographer and dancer Michael Greyeyes returns to choreograph and direct the cast of over 20 performers including The Elmer Iseler Singers, original soloists Xin Wang (soprano), and Bud Roach (tenor), and a virtuoso ensemble of Canadian musicians, actors, and dancers.
"Pimooteewin: The Journey is culturally provocative and profoundly Canadian" says Soundstreams Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney. "The story is by a Cree writer inspired by Aboriginal myth; the music was created by a Chinese-Canadian composer and is sung in the Cree language by a cast drawn from diverse heritages; and the Cree stage director has drawn upon Aboriginal and Japanese traditions. It is a true reflection of Canadian culture and society in 2009. Pimooteewin celebrates universal themes of life and death and weaves together music and ideas from globally diverse genres, artists and traditions. Soundstreams is proud to have commissioned, developed and produced this work for Canadian and international audiences. Such a work could only have been created in Canada!"
The Story of Pimooteewin: The Journey
The opera follows two characters traditional to Aboriginal mythology - the Trickster (Weesageechak) and the Eagle (Migisoo) - as they journey across a river to the magic island where, lit by the moon, the Spirits of the Dead perform a nocturnal dance. The Trickster and his companion capture the spirits in a basket. As the duo make their triumphant way home, the Spirits make their escape. Pimooteewin: The Journey tackles the sensitive subjects of life and death with the profound wisdom and humour typical of Tomson Highway's writing.
Highway says of the Trickster, "The Trickster is a clown, the world's most hysterical, most ridiculous, given to the people by the Great Spirit, to teach us the pivotal lesson that the reason for existence on the planet is not to suffer, not to wallow in guilt but to enjoy life, to take pleasure in the simple act of living."
"Trickster serves a tremendous role through our Aboriginal culture because through his mischief, joy and machinations he teaches us humanity about ourselves." - Michael Greyeyes, director
Highway chose to tell the story of the Trickster and the Eagle's journey to the land of the dead as a way of dealing with the personal loss in his immediate family. The writer/musician explains that Pimooteewin: The Journey explores the idea of death in the context of aboriginal belief that passing is not an end, but a continuation of life in a different form. A classically trained pianist, Thomson believes that language itself is an instrument. He and composer Melissa Hui were commissioned to create The Journey by Soundstreams' Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney after sitting on a panel to discuss cross-cultural collaborations.
"What I loved was the universality of the myth and characters." Says Melissa Hui "This story about death and longing for our loved ones transcends culture and time."
Pimooteewin: The Journey is a story told simply and concisely. Sets are minimal, and costumes streamlined and bold. Director Michael Greyeyes cleverly incorporates conventions from traditional Japanese theatre, a cross-cultural nod to the universal similarities in the story-telling tradition. Kurokos are essential members of the cast in Kabuki theatre. Dressed entirely in black, their role is to move pieces of the set, often animating these pieces to represent weather, seasons, landscapes, animals, ethereal creatures, and elemental entities. In Pimooteewin, it is dancers who take on the Kurokos roles enhancing the story-telling with movement and puppetry.
Praise for Pimooteewin: The Journey
"Soundstreams wisely chose a composer who would not curry favour through ingratiatingly popular idioms, or resort to cliché. Hui's finely-wrought score for seven instrumentalists, choir (the Elmer Iseler Singers), tenor and soprano started off with a thrilling section that evokes ancient chant without being culturally specific (though I was pleasantly reminded of medieval European polyphony)."
The Globe and Mail, Tamara Bernstein
"The vocal talents are first-rate. A must-hear is lyric tenor Bud Roach, who is only beginning to introduce himself to Toronto. He is the trickster, Weesageechak. The eagle, Misigoo, is vocalized by soprano Xin Wang."
The Toronto Star, John Terauds
Pimooteewin: The Journey on Tour
April 27-May 5th Education and Outreach Activites (various communities)
Public Performances - Tickets $10-$20
Available online at www.soundstreams.ca
May 5th - Moosonee
Northern College, 7pm
For tickets please contact the Moosonee Friendship Centre at 705-336-2808
May 6th - Moose Factory
Delores D. Echum Composite School, 7pm
For tickets please contact Cree Village Ecolodge at 705-658-6400
May 8th - Cochrane
Ecole Secondaire Cochrane High School, 7pm
For tickets please contact the Ininew Friendship Centre at 705-272-4497
May 11th - Kapuskasing
Kapuskasing Education Centre, 7pm
For tickets please contact the Kapuskasing Friendship Centre at 705-337-1935
May 12th and 13th - Timmins
Timmins High & Vocational School, 7pm
For tickets please contact the Timmins Native Friendship Centre at 705-268-6262
May 14th - Iroquois Falls
Iroquois Falls High School, 7pm
For tickets please contact Iroquois Falls Sports Complex - Pool Desk at 705-258-3526
The tour of Pimooteewin: The Journey is made possible with the support of the following donors:
The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation
About Soundstreams
Soundstreams is a hub for new directions in music, programming culturally provocative concerts and festivals by weaving together music and ideas from globally diverse genres, artists and eras. Founded by renowned oboist Lawrence Cherney in 1982, Soundstreams has presented hundreds of unique and compelling concerts, from intimate chamber music events to multi-choral spectaculars, opera and six highly successful international festivals. A recognized national leader, Soundstreams Canada is one of the largest and most dynamic organizations of its kind anywhere in the world.
In Acknowledgement
Soundstreams Canada gratefully acknowledges the support of TD Canada Trust Music, The Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Opera.ca, Days Inn Timmins, Ontario Northland, Classical 96.3 FM, NOW Magazine, Coach Canada, HeinsooInsurance Brokers, Estonian Credit Union, the Laidlaw Foundation, the Metcalf Foundation, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for theArts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, SOCAN Foundation, theCreative Trust, the Koerner Foundation, the John D. McKellar Foundation, RogerD. Moore, the
Charles H. IveyFoundation, the Hal Jackman Foundation, the Fleck
Family Foundation, The Ontario Arts Foundation, the McLean Foundation and
members ofthe Premiere's Circle (James Baillie, Stanley Witkin, John
Lawson, Michael andSonja Koerner) for their generous support.
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For more information please contact:
Maureen O'Donnell
Communications Consultant
maureensodonnell@gmail.com
416-929-1106
Catherine Boudreau
Soundstreams Canada
Marketing and Public Relations Manager
catherineb@soundstreams.ca
416-504-1282