{"id":99573,"date":"2023-10-03T11:02:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T15:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=99573"},"modified":"2023-10-03T11:02:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T15:02:36","slug":"scoop-canadian-opera-company-national-arts-centre-commission-new-opera-empire-wild-ian-cusson-cherie-dimaline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/10\/03\/scoop-canadian-opera-company-national-arts-centre-commission-new-opera-empire-wild-ian-cusson-cherie-dimaline\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SCOOP | Canadian Opera Company & National Arts Centre Commission New Opera \u2018Empire Of Wild\u2019 From Ian Cusson & Cherie Dimaline"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L: Ian Cusson; R: Cherie Dimaline (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new Indigenous-led opera based on a best-selling novel has been officially commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company (COC) and National Arts Centre (NAC). Empire of Wild will be composed by Ian Cusson with librettist Cherie Dimaline, based on a story about the Georgian Bay M\u00e9tis community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled to be partnering with the National Arts Centre in the creation of this important, contemporary opera,\u201d says COC General Director Perryn Leech. \u201cEmpire of Wild embodies years of community-rooted work that the Canadian Opera Company has been doing through regular discourse with its Circle of Artists, and marks a tangible response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada\u2019s 94 Calls to Action. With this commission, we\u2019re continuing our commitment to Indigenous representation by bringing a collaborative focus to the creation of opera that reflects a wider range of perspectives and lived experiences. We are proud to support the artistic leadership of some of Canada\u2019s most prominent Indigenous directors, designers, composers, and stage crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Opera<\/h3>\n

Both composer Ian Cusson and librettist Cherie Dimaline have roots in the Georgian Bay M\u00e9tis Community where the story takes place. Empire of Wild will be sung in English and French. The premiere will take place during a Canadian Opera Company season, with dates and details to be announced as they take shape.<\/p>\n

Empire of Wild retells the traditional M\u00e9tis story of the werewolf-like Rogarou. In the novel, Joan searches for her missing husband Victor, but when she finds him at a revival-style preacher’s tent, he’s forgotten who he is. Can she solve the mystery of his disappearance\/reappearance and identity?<\/p>\n

The 2019 novel was an instant Canadian bestseller, and combines elements of the supernatural and folklore in a contemporary setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Empire of Wild, audiences are in for an evening of music and drama that celebrates everything we love about historic opera while pushing the boundaries of what the art form can say,\u201d says Ian Cusson in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is especially fitting that during a week where we honour a national commitment to truth and reconciliation that the COC and NAC are announcing this major investment in Indigenous-led, mainstage work. Significant collaborations like this form the bold new future of opera, and I am thrilled to create it with two companies that are leading that charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"L:
L: Ian Cusson; R: Cherie Dimaline (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ian was named Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company in 2019 and Carrefour Composer for the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) in 2017. His recent work includes the well received Of the Sea (2023) with Tapestry Opera and Obsidian Theatre, with librettist Kanika Ambrose, and a new Act Three aria, commissioned by the COC and NAC, for the 1967 opera Louis Riel. Cusson\u2019s new music replaced sacred laments of the Nisga\u2019a First Nation, which had been used without permission.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be back at the Canadian Opera Company and the National Arts Centre feels like coming home \u2014 and getting to work with the stellar COC Orchestra and Chorus, NACO, and NAC Indigenous Theatre on a project of this scale is a dream come true,\u201d continues Cusson. \u201cI\u2019m also thrilled to be working with Cherie, one of the most exciting and celebrated writers of our day. We both also happen to come from the Georgian Bay Metis community, and Empire of Wild takes place on land that our families have lived and died on for generations. Having this level of connection is beyond unique in the operatic collaborative process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Librettist Cherie Dimaline is a best-selling author known in particular for her imaginative YA novels. Her 2017 book, The Marrow Thieves, won the Governor\u2019s General Award and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdapting this book for the Canadian Opera Company and National Arts Centre stage, in anticipation of all the incredible talents who will help give it new life, is not merely a retelling, but rather a reimagining,\u201d says Dimaline. \u201cI could not think of a more beautiful art form than opera to pull forward the underlying complexities and aching romance of Empire of Wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a gift to work with Ian on this project,\u201d continues Dimaline. \u201cHe brings so much experience and expertise to the project, along with an intimate connection to the story itself. Co-creating with somebody who shares ancestral ties to a uniquely beautiful, deeply spooky land is the experience of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Words<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt brings me immense pleasure to welcome Ian Cusson back to the COC as composer of this new opera, and I want to extend an especially warm welcome to Cherie Dimaline, joining us as librettist,\u201d continues Leech. \u201cThe combined creativity of this pairing is simply off the charts and I look forward to seeing their artistic vision brought to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NAC is incredibly proud to co-commission Empire of Wild with the Canadian Opera Company,\u201d says Christopher Deacon, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre. \u201cOver the years, we have collaborated extensively with Ian and are now delighted to be working with Cherie in reimagining this story for the stage. I cannot think of a better way to spotlight Indigenous artistry than having our two organizations come together in support of this project, and I look forward to bringing this unique opera to audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

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