Many thanks to the lovely and talented Sarah Jo Kirsch for her help in creating the Metis Chorus practice tracks today! Singing in 4 languages (2 Michif, plus French and English) and sight reading like the wind. If you are a female in the Métis Chorus we are putting together for our workshop, it’s Sarah Jo’s voice you will be hearing.
GO!!!! This is one of the most joyful weekends ever for Michif peoples or non-Michif peoples. One of the greatest delights, besides the fiddlers (!!), the campsite jams, the incredible concerts (DON'T miss the Gospel Hour on Sunday morning), is the nightly old-time dance. Waltzing with my Best Beloved was beyond wonderful.
I love this! I'll be in Winnipeg next week and for sure it's on my list. I love cycling and I love history and I love the Red River and and and ... there's just so much right about this.
Something interesting I've read today. Note that I, the librettist, have never heard the Riel opera, nor read it beyond the first few pages of the score. I did this at the Canadian Music Centre so that I could briefly look at how the libretto was set. I'm not fond of recitative, or sing-spiele, or whatever the heck they call it (I should know the word as I have a degree in Voice!) when someone sings something pedestrian like, "Take out the garbage!!". When I embark upon a new project I avoid others' work in the field - creative, that is. I DO my research, and then I listen, listen, listen. Gaudry (is he a cousin I wonder?) is an interesting writer/academic. I've not had the time to read much of his work, yet.
The continent seems to be afire. This was the case in the 1860s and 1870s metaphorically and literally. There just might be a fire in Riel's Heart of the North. Watch this space.
Neil and I are rapidly nearing the end of the first major hurdle of this large work. I have written the script/libretto and he is nearing the end of the composing. It is a HUGE undertaking that has required extensive research, writing, rewriting, editing, cutting, rewriting ... Neil and I are in touch daily (I'm in B.C. he is in Winnipeg) as he asks, "What does line x on page y mean?", or, "Can I have character Z sing this?" This is an exceptionally exciting but exhausting process and we are very excited to be seeing Riel's Heart of the North gain some momentum of its own. Exciting and daunting.
We are also looking for a young Metis actor (female, between 15-25) to read the part of the Granddaughter for the workshop for a new musical theatre work, Riel's Heart of the North. The work, by Métis poet Dr. Suzanne M. Steele, and composer Neil Weisensel will premiere in 2020 in Winnipeg at Centennial Hall with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
The beautiful Medicine Gardens at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. One character in our show is an Ojibwe medicine woman who uses the four sacred plants- sage, sweet grass, cedar and tobacco- to save a life. Many thanks to Debra Beach-Ducharme for her assistance and wisdom.
