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KAMOURASKA –
Fact Sheet 1-
KAMOURASKA
was written on a Canada Council Fellowship by Canadian composer Charles
Wilson between 1974 -1975. 2-
Several
years later it received a first reading for an invited audience in Toronto. 3-
OIC came across the vocal score at the
Canadian Music Centre while researching another of Mr. Wilson’s scores, THE
SUMMONING OF EVERYMAY performed by OIC in 2004. 4-
In
2005, OIC offers to showcase KAMOURASKA if a way could be found to fit OIC’s
specific presentational format. 5-
Mr.
Wilson “pulls KAMOURASKA out of the dust bin” in 2006 to see if he could
redeem it from years of dormancy. 6-
It
quickly became a complete rewrite. After some OIC suggestions, not to mention
the fact that Mr. Wilson’s own compositional thinking had changed from the original
experimental styles of the fifties and sixties, KAMOURASKA began its
transformation. To quote Charles
Wilson: “KAMOURASKA is now a very different opera with a different cast
component and a chamber orchestra. The whole project is a new and better effort.
There are many cuts of unnecessary scenes and the libretto is much tighter.
The opera is now in two acts. I’m very excited about the new Kamouraska.”
Incidentally, every vocal part is written on two staves, one in English, the other in French. Frequently, the two languages have
different inflections and rhythm patterns, thus the need for two versions”. KAMOURASKA
evolves in two OIC phases: a Workshop production (in English) for May 17 and
18, 2008 allowing the creative team to assess its dramatic and musical impact
and allow for revisions, if required. The second phase, our first World
Premiere, will take place on March 28 and 29, 2009 as part of OIC’s 2008-2009
Season. |