Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Ontario
Canadian Opera Company
Co-production With National Arts Centre National des Arts
In recognition of the Nisg̱a’a people and to correct the attribution of “Song of Skateen,” the COC's
opening night performance of Louis Riel will begin with an oratory and musical address from
G̱oothl Ts'imilx Mike Dangeli and Wal’aks Keane Tait of the Nisg̱a’a First Nation with the
Git Hayetsk and Kwhlii Gibaygum Nisg̱a'a Dancers, two internationally renowned dance groups from Vancouver, B.C.
Harry Somers : Music
Mavor Moore : Libretto
Jacques Languirand : Libretto Collaborator
Sung in English, French, Michif and Cree
Cole Alvis : The Activist
Jani Lauzon : Folksinger ~ Elzéar ~ Lagimodière ~ Clerk of the Court ~ Prison Guard
Doug MacNaughton : William McDougall ~ Judge
Keith Klassen : British Soldier ~ Hudson's Bay Scout ~ Father Moulin
∞
Charles Sy : Ambroise Lépine
Michael Colvin : Thomas Scott
Bruno Cormier : Joseph Delorme
Jan Vaculik : Janvier Ritchot
∞
Michael Downie : Elzéar Goulet
Vanya Abrahams : André Nault
Taras Chmil : Baptiste Lépine
Russell Braun : Louis Riel
∞
Andrew Love : Dr. Schultz
Thomas Glenn : Charles Mair
Neil Craighead : O'Donaghue ~ B.B. Osler
Alain Coulombe : Bishop Taché
∞
James Westman : Sir John A. Macdonald
Aaron Sheppard : Donald Smith ~ Gen. Sir Frederick Middleton
Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure : Sir George-Étienne Cartier ~ Father André
Allyson McHardy : Julie Riel
∞
Joanna Burt : Sara Riel
Peter Barrett : Colonel Garnet Wolseley
Simone Osborne : Marguerite Riel
Andrew Haji : Gabriel Dumont
∞
Clarence Frazer : James Isbister
Billy Merasty : Poundmaker
Bruno Roy : Louis Schmidt ~ Dr. François Roy
Everett Morrison : Wandering Spirit
∞
Dion Mazerolle : F. X. Lemieux
Justin Many-Fingers (Mii-sum-ma-nis-kim) : Buffalo Dancer
Canadian Opera Company Chorus
Canadian Opera Company Orchestra
Johannes Debus : Conductor
Peter Hinton : Director
Estelle Shook : Assistant Director
Michael Gianfrancesco : Set Designer
Gillian Gallow : Costume Designer
∞
Bonnie Beecher : Lighting Designer
Santee Smith : Choreographer
Sandra Horst : Chorus Master
Stephanie Marrs : Stage Manager
∞
Norman Fleury : Michif Translator ~ Language Coach
Billy Merasty : Cree Translator ~ Language Coach
Gunta Dreifelds : SURTITLES Producer
Charles Gray : Remastered Original Sound Tapes
The score of Somers’ Louis Riel includes the “Kuyas” aria, which opens Act III and is sung in Cree by the artist in the role of Marguerite Riel, Louis Riel’s wife. The music for the “Kuyas” aria was based on a Nisg̱a’a mourning song called “Song of Skateen” that was recorded by Marius Barbeau and transcribed by Sir Ernest MacMillan on the Nass River in 1927. The “Song of Skateen” is one of hundreds of First Nations songs collected by ethnographers during the early 20th century, shared with the understanding that it was to keep them safe for future generations. Many agreed to have their songs recorded believing that the Indian Act’s censorship of performing their songs and dances would result in their eventual loss, unaware that these materials may one day be used in contemporary compositions without their consent. The “Song of Skateen”, a Nisg̱a’a mourning song, was used by Harry Somers without knowledge of Nisg̱a’a protocol that dictates that such songs must only be sung at the appropriate times, and only by those who hold the hereditary rights to sing such songs. To sing mourning songs in other contexts is a legal offence for Nisg̱a’a people and can also have negative spiritual impacts upon the lives of singers and listeners. With respect to both the Nisg̱a’a and Métis peoples and in recognition of how the songs of one nation are not the same as another’s, the COC and NAC co-production of Louis Riel acknowledges the current holder of the hereditary rights to this song:
Sim'oogit Sg̱at'iin, hereditary chief Isaac Gonu, Gisḵ'ansnaat (Grizzly Bear Clan), Gitlax̱t'aamiks, B.C.