The first
public showcase of the Canadian opera The Enslavement and Liberation of
Oksana G. was performed on March 9 and 10, at the Ernest Balmer Studio,
staged by Tapestry New Opera in The
Enslavement and Liberationof Oksana G.
New
Opera Deals with Human Trafficking in
The first
public showcase of the Canadian opera The Enslavement and Liberation of
Oksana G. was performed on March 9 and 10, at the Ernest Balmer Studio,
staged by Tapestry New Opera in
This new
work in development for the main stage is written by Tapestry’s former Writer
in Residence, Governor General’s Award-winning playwright and filmmaker Colleen
Murphy and San Francisco-based Canadian composer Aaron Gervais.
Oksana, a
young girl in
With
libretto sung in Ukrainian, Russian and English, this opera with prologue and
epilogue uses non-operatic music from various cultures to enhance the composed
score and drama. The tragic mnage trois is a topic as ancient as Greek
drama, but in Oksana G. it takes on a life as immediate as today’s
headlines, yet honours the ingredients common to all great operas:
universality, timelessness and high emotion.
An initial
scene for Oksana G. was produced as part of Tapestry’s 2006 Opera to
Go at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. In 2009-2010, with support
from the Creative Connections programme at Opera.ca, the dramatic and musically
complex human auction scene was workshopped at the Banff Centre for the Arts,
and then with the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble and Full Orchestra.
The
workshop presentation of Oksana G. was produced by director Tom Diamond and
music director Wayne Strongman. The singers are Catharin Carew, Jesse Clark,
Claire de Sévigné, Lisa diMaria, Keith Klassen, Cory Knight, Andrea Ludwig,
Chris Mayell, James McLennan, Shantelle Przybylo, Charlene Santoni, Curtis
Sullivan, Krisztina Szabó, Gerrit Theule, Michael York, and Monica Zerbe,
rehearsed by Christopher Foley. Synthesizer played by Susan Suchard. Libretto
translation cooperative effort included Oksana Tatsyak.
For more information, email: information@tapestrynewopera.com or visit
www.tapestrynewopera.com
Comment
on Human Trafficking in
Many of us
think slavery has been abolished. Think again. It’s flourishing
rampantly worldwide, even in our own neighbourhoods. Many of us remain oblivious,
unaware, or indifferent. Human traffickers enslave millions of victims
yearly, with profits by organized crime groups estimated to be in the billions.
This issue needs to be known to
all. Getting the message out in various ways, whether it be through publishing,
mainstream media, academically, or in this case, the arts, is paramount in raising
awareness worldwide. The new operatic work The Enslavement and Liberation of
Oksana G. deals with the trafficking of a girl from
Currently,
Help Us Help The Children Anti-Trafficking Initiative (a project of Children Of
Chornobyl Canadian Fund), is working with and funding a group in Ternopil,
Ukraine, Vidrodzhennia Natsii, in a human trafficking awareness drive focused on
youth, very much defined by an element of art expression. The arts, definitely,
are an effective way to raise awareness of this most important issue.
The message in Oksana G. is universal, in that the issue of human trafficking touches many nations. This story-line is representative of only one of the many ways that innocent humans are tricked and lured into the sordid underworld of organized crime groups, then bought, sold, used as slaves, and if they survive, discarded and quickly replaced by fresh victims. The opera Oksana G. is sure to open our minds and hearts to the anguish and plight of one young woman, but we must remain aware that Oksana G. represents many. Our outrage, anger and call to action to stop this abuse of human rights and dignity should not stop at the final curtain call.
Irena Soltys
Ukrainian World Congress Taskforce
to Stop Human Trafficking
Help Us Help The Children
Anti-trafficking Initiative
Compiled and edited
by John Pidkowich
PHOTO
Scene from 2006 Opera
to Go production of Oksana G.