The official piano of
City Opera Vancouver
...and the Illahie Fund
Diverse voices. Daring visions. A curated look at dance, drama, design, music, poetry, cinema, song, photography, opera and more. All 21st C. All dazzling. All Canadian. Online, and free. Starting at noon on Saturday 1 October. One new entry a day, for a month.
In 2010, City Opera gave the young tenor Isaiah Bell his professional debut as Madwoman in Britten’s ‘Curlew River’. Ten years later, Isaiah gave the world premiere of a brand-new take on Poulenc’s ‘The Human Voice’, created on video during COVID. In May 2023, we present the Vancouver premiere of his own ‘The Book of My Shames’... and so we close out this year’s FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY with a look ahead...
Joni Mitchell, just because. Here she was on 24 July, at the Newport Folk Festival, coming back.
“Karin and Kathy Kettler, the Canadian throat-singing sisters who together are known as Nukariik, carry on the traditions of the elders from their mothers' village in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik, which is located in northern Quebec.”
"In the Haida culture, the cedar tree is known as the 'tree of life'. Traditionally, when babies were born, they were placed in cedar boxes. When people died, their bodies were also placed in cedar boxes. The bark of the trees has many other uses as well. It can be woven into ropes, baskets and hats. These trees are also used for one of the well-known symbols of Haida culture - totem poles. Haida totem poles tell a story through the representation of human, animal and supernatural figures. We spoke with Haida carver Tyler York to learn more about this incredible tradition."
“Kent Monkman is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist. A member of Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works in Dish With One Spoon Territory (Toronto, Canada).
“Known for his thought-provoking interventions into Western European and American art history, Monkman explores themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience—the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences—across painting, film/video, performance, and installation. Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle often appears in his work as a time-traveling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples.”
Teiya, eloquent and impassioned and personal, tells how it came to be. Fascinating.