Volume 25 Issue 3 - November 2019

The second of the two POV productions, Missing, just going
into rehearsal as we spoke, is a piece that Newman has been
involved with since its inception. It will run November 1 and 2 in
Victoria, then, to Newman’s delight, travel to Regina Performing
Arts Centre, November 8 and 9, and finally on to Prince George, BC,
November 15, 16 and 17, on the Highway of Tears that, along with
Vancouver’s Downtown East Side (DTES), is this searing work’s
primary setting. Missing was created “to give voice to the story of
Canada’s missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, and to
show that each and every one of these missing people is honoured.”
It premiered on November 1 2017 during Vancouver’s DTES Heart of
the City Festival, before an invited audience of families, friends and
the DTES community of the missing. This was followed by runs of
five performances each at Vancouver City Opera and POV. Newman
reprises her original role in this run.
A review of the first run in Vancouver Magazine stated that
Missing “lays the foundation for a bridge between two cultural
solitudes that must work together ... to give birth to a new Canada.”
And Opera Canada called it “an important piece of theatre that
builds over its short 80 minutes to a shatteringly emotional
conclusion... [it] is some-thing every Canadian should see.”
It also offers, in the way it was created, some clues to how to build
that bridge between solitudes. One example: Marie Clements, who
is Métis-Dene, fully developed the libretto prior to the selection of
a composer; the composer selected, Brian Current, was one of four
composers asked to set a portion of it, with their settings sung before
a jury who did not know their identities.
For Marion Newman, the fact that Missing is going to Regina is a
source of great satisfaction, because of her relationship with Gordon
Gerrard, music director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, who will
be the pianist for Newman’s Heliconian Hall November concerts. As
she explains:
“Gordon was really key in bringing Missing to Regina; he wanted
it two years ago. He was very determined. This is very much with
the support of the Indigenous advisory council there, which I’m proud
to be a part of. He has a board member who’s an Indigenous woman
from Regina and he asked her if she thought it would be possible to
have an Indigenous advisory council from all walks of life in Regina,
and she thought that was a great idea, to help guide the RSO
towards being more involved in telling Indigenous stories in music
and community – really leading the way in terms of symphonies
engaging the people on whose lands they exist.”
A recent manifestation of Gerrard’s commitment to meaningful
collaboration was his role in the March 2019 mounting of the new
opera Riel: Heart of the North by Métis librettist Suzanne Steele and
composer Neil Weisensel (in which Newman, along with mezzosoprano
Rebecca Cuddy, who will be at the Heliconian with Newman,
both had roles). But according to Newman, Gerrard’s commitment
goes back further than that.
“Well before Riel, going back to the beginning of his tenure … the
first big thing we did was a festival for the symphony not part of the
regular season, focused on social change and community. The first
one was about truth and reconciliation and they partnered with the
Art Gallery of Regina to make that happen, to create a unique space.
Almost all the content was Indigenous performances in both dance
and music. This coming year it’s about LGBTQ themes, planning for
a different focus each year – related to people who don’t normally
get a voice at the symphony – and to how to bring the community to
the symphony, and the symphony to the community.
“He has been there when things got awkward and people stuck
their foot in their mouth about Indigenous people with me right there,
watching how that affected me and others. So bringing Missing
there is a no-brainer … and so is including him in a concert that is
about Indigenous classical music. Besides, he is a wonderful pianist as
well as conductor; so many of my ideas have grown out of
conversations we have. I really want him to be part of this.”
Digging down into some of Newman’s other recent roles, the
connections and bonds between her and the other November 26
Heliconian participants becomes clearer. For example, both Evan
Korbut and Rebecca Cuddy were in Tapestry Opera’s production of
Thursday November 7 at 8 pm
vision string quartet
A new generation string quartet
makes its Toronto debut
Thursday December 5 at 8 pm
Gryphon Trio
with Robert Pomakov
Canada’s great operatic bass
joins our beloved piano trio
27 Front Street East, Toronto
Tickets: 416-366-7723 | music-toronto.com
thewholenote.com November 2019| 9