Start: 2020-07-18T19:30:00-04:00
End: 2020-07-18T21:30:00-04:00
Location: Southam Hall

National Arts Centre - Centre national des Arts Canada is our stage. Le Canada en scène.

NAC Orchestra
· 2019-2020 Season

Opera on the Avalon featuring the NAC Orchestra

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/25382

Ours, a fully-staged lyric drama in two acts and Opera on the Avalon’s first critically-acclaimed commission, tracks the social, political, and emotional aftermath of the battle of Beaumont Hamel through the story of Thomas Nangle who was chaplain to the Newfoundland Regiment. Following the war, Nangle was named to the Imperial War Graves Commission where he led efforts to properly bury the remains of the lost Regiment across Europe. He established the existing five war...

July 16 - 18, 2020

Southam Hall 1 Elgin Street Ottawa Canada

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Jul 16 - 18, 2020

Southam Hall

Music Chamber music Opera Summer events

Ours, a fully-staged lyric drama in two acts and Opera on the Avalon’s first critically-acclaimed commission, tracks the social, political, and emotional aftermath of the battle of Beaumont Hamel through the story of Thomas Nangle who was chaplain to the Newfoundland Regiment.

Following the war, Nangle was named to the Imperial War Graves Commission where he led efforts to properly bury the remains of the lost Regiment across Europe. He established the existing five war memorial sites across Europe, including Beaumont Hamel, as well as the Newfoundland National War Memorial in St. John’s.

His story of sacrifice, hardship, and renewal is the perfect human embodiment of Newfoundland’s journey through the war, and through its horrific aftermath.

Ours was composed by Juno-nominated Canadian composer John Estacio with a libretto by Newfoundland Governor General Award-winning playwright Robert Chafe. Directed by Glynis Leyshon and conducted by Judith Yan.

The Poppy Design is a registered trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion, Dominion Command and is used under license.

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Commissioned by Opera on the Avalon

Commissioned by Opera on the Avalon

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Music by John Estacio
Music by John Estacio

Composer John Estacio is a recipient of the National Arts Centre Award for Composers (2009)– a major prize that includes the commissioning of three works for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the first of which is Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra. The NAC Orchestra premiered Mr. Estacio’s Brio in Ottawa and performed it on tour throughout Canada’s Atlantic provinces in 2011, during the China Tour in 2013, and the UK Tour in 2014. The UK Tour will also feature the world premiere of Mr. Estacio’s latest NAC commission, Wind Quintet.

Mr. Estacio has written three operas including Lillian Alling, which premiered in October 2010 by the Vancouver Opera. Filumena, his first opera, premiered in 2003 in Calgary and Banff, and went on to receive four Betty Mitchell Awards, including one for outstanding production. Filumena was filmed for television and broadcast on PBS and the CBC. As composer-in-residence for several orchestras, Mr. Estacio created several compositions and recorded some of them on the JUNO nominated CD “Frenergy, the Music of John Estacio,” released by CBC Records.

Mr. Estacio’s orchestral works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet featured several of Mr. Estacio’s orchestral works in Wonderland – a ballet choreographed by Shawn Hounsell. He composed an orchestral score for the new ballet King Arthur’s Camelot by the Cincinnati Ballet which premiered in February 2014. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and acclaimed tenor Ben Heppner toured Europe with Mr. Estacio’s arrangement of Seven Songs by Jean Sibelius.

Le compositeur primé aux JUNO John Estacio a remporté en 2009 le Prix des compositeurs du Centre national des Arts, une distinction prestigieuse assortie d’une commande de trois œuvres pour l’Orchestre du Centre national des Arts. La première de ces pièces, intitule Brio : Toccata et Fantaisie pour orchestre, a été créée par l’Orchestre du CNA à Ottawa, puis présentée durant les tournées de l’ensemble au Canada atlantique (2011) et en Chine (2013). Elle figure également au programme de la tournée au R.-U., tout comme le Quintette à vent, plus récente commande du CNA au compositeur, présenté en première mondiale.

On doit à John Estacio trois opéras, don’t Lillian Alling, que le Vancouver Opera a donné en première en octobre 2010. Sa première œuvre opératique, Filumena, créée à Calgary et à Banff en 2003, a été couronnée de quatre prix Betty-Mitchell, dont celui de la Meilleure production. Elle a été filmée pour la télévision et diffusée aux réseaux PBS et CBC. Compositeur en residence auprès de plusieurs orchestres, M. Estacio a signé plusieurs œuvres dont certaines se retrouvent sur le CD finaliste aux JUNO Frenergy, the Music of John Estacio, paru sous étiquette Disques SRC.

Ses œuvres orchestrales ont été interprétées à Carnegie Hall par les orchestres symphoniques de Toronto et d’Edmonton. On en retrouve plusieurs extraits dans le ballet Wonderland du Royal Winnipeg Ballet, chorégraphié par Shawn Hounsell. Le Cincinnati Ballet lui a passé commande d’une partition d’orchestre pour le ballet King Arthur’s Camelot, dont la première a eu lieu en février 2014. L’arrangement qu’il a signé des Sept chants de Jean Sibelius a été présenté par l’Orchestre philharmonique de Los Angeles et le célèbre tenor Ben Heppner en tournée en Europe.
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Libretto Robert Chafe
Libretto Robert Chafe

Robert Chafe is a writer, educator, actor and arts administrator based in St. John’s, Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland). He has worked in theatre, dance, opera, radio, fiction and film. His stage plays have been seen in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and in the United States, and include Oil and Water, Tempting Providence, Afterimage, Under Wraps, Between Breaths, Everybody Just Calm the Fuck Down, and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (adapted from the novel by Wayne Johnston.) He has been shortlisted twice for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama and he won the award for Afterimage in 2010. He has been guest instructor at Memorial University, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, and The National Theatre School of Canada. In 2018 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Memorial University. He is the playwright and Artistic Director of Artistic Fraud.

Robert Chafe est un écrivain, enseignant, acteur et administrateur des arts basé à St. John’s, Ktaqmkuk (Terre-Neuve). Il a travaillé dans les domaines du théâtre, de la danse, de l’opéra, de la radio, de la fiction et du cinéma. Ses pièces de théâtre ont été présentées au Canada, au Royaume-Uni, en Australie et aux États-Unis. Elles comprennent Oil and Water, Tempting Providence, Afterimage, Under Wraps, Between Breaths, Everybody Just Calm the Fuck Down et The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (adaptation du roman de Wayne Johnston). Il a été finaliste deux fois au Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général, dans la catégorie Théâtre, et a remporté ce prix pour Afterimage en 2010. Il a été professeur invité à l’Université Memorial, au Sir Wilfred Grenfell College et à l’École nationale de théâtre du Canada. En 2018, il a reçu un doctorat honorifique de l’Université Memorial. Dramaturge, il est directeur artistique d’Artistic Fraud.
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Featuring NAC Orchestra
Featuring NAC Orchestra

Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.

Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.

Depuis sa création en 1969, l’Orchestre du Centre national des Arts (CNA) reçoit des éloges pour la passion et la clarté de ses interprétations, pour ses programmes éducatifs novateurs et pour son apport à l’expression de la créativité canadienne. Sous la direction du Directeur musical Alexander Shelley, l’Orchestre du Centre national des Arts est le reflet de la diversité des paysages, des valeurs et des communautés du Canada, et est reconnu pour sa programmation audacieuse, ses contenus nrratifs marquants, son excellence artistique et ses partenariats innovants.

Alexander Shelley a amorcé son mandat à la direction musicale de l’Orchestre du CNA en 2015, succédant à Pinchas Zukerman, qui a été aux commandes de l’ensemble pendant 16 saisons. Premier chef associé du Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shelley a été le premier chef de l’Orchestre symphonique de Nuremberg de 2009 à 2017. Demandé partout dans le monde, il a dirigé entre autres la Philharmonie de Rotterdam, DSO Berlin, le Leipzig Gewandhaus et la Philharmonie de Stockholm, et il maintient des liens avec la Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie et l’Orchestre national des jeunes d’Allemagne.

Chaque saison, l’Orchestre du met en vedette des artistes de réputation internationale, tels que notre artiste en résidence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki et le premier chef invité John Storgårds. L’ensemble se distingue à l’échelle du monde pour son approche accessible, inclusive et collaborative. Par le langage universel de la musique et des expériences musicales communes, il communique des émotions profondes et nous rapproche les uns des autres.
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Conductor Judith Yan

Conductor Judith Yan

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Director Glynis Leyshon

Director Glynis Leyshon

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Production Manager Murray Palmer
Lighting Designer Itai Erdal
Projection Designer Jamie Nesbitt
Set Designer Patrick Clark
Costume Designer Keith Roberts
Stage Manager Stephanie Marrs
Arthur Murray Stephen Hegedus
Charlie Whitten Matthew Dalen
Thomas Nangle Keith Phares
Michael Samuel Chan
Edward John Lindsey
May Lara Ciekiewicz
John Ryan Downey
Field Marshall Haig/Recruiter Tom Goerz
Thelma Tracy Cantin
Archbishop Roche David Pomeroy
Elizabeth Crowley Leslie Ann Bradley

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