Soundstreams premieres first Cree opera (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

Soundstreams premieres first Cree opera
Pimooteewin, four years in the making, is first opera sung in Cree. It premieres
tomorrow

Feb 14, 2008 04:30 AM
John Terauds
CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC

The very first operas, four centuries ago, were based on Greco-Roman myth. So an
opera based on First Nations myth, with its similar conflicts between god and
human, isn't too much of a stretch.

Tomorrow and Saturday, Soundstreams premieres Pimooteewin (The Journey), the
offspring of composer Melissa Hui and playwright Tomson Highway.

At a seminar at the University of Toronto's faculty of music last week,
Soundstreams artistic director Lawrence Cherney said the idea of an
aboriginal-themed opera came out of a panel discussion on cultural
collaboration that included both Hui and Highway.

Full article link below:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/303327