Louis Riel (opera)
Encyclopedia
Louis Riel is an opera
in three acts by the Canadian composer
Harry Somers
.
This full length opera was written for the 1967 Canadian centennial
. It concerns the controversial Métis
leader Louis Riel
, who was executed in 1885, and is one of Somers' biggest pieces.
It is arguably the most famous Canadian opera. Somers set the music to an English and French libretto
by Mavor Moore
and Jacques Languirand. The opera was commissioned by the Floyd S. Chalmers Foundation and produced by the Canadian Opera Company
with financial assistance from the Canadian Centennial Commission, the Canada Council
, and the Province of Ontario Council for the Arts (Ontario Arts Council
).
23 and 28 September and 11 October 1967 and at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts
, in Montreal
19 and 21 October 1967. Victor Feldbrill
conducted, Leon Major
directed, and Murray Laufer and Marie Day designed the sets and costumes. The original cast included Bernard Turgeon as Riel, Cornelis Opthof as Sir John A. Macdonald, Joseph Rouleau
as Monseigneur Taché
, Patricia Rideout as Riel's mother, Mary Morrison as his sister, Roxolana Roslak as his wife, Howell Glynne
as William McDougall
, and Ermanno Mauro as Baptiste Lépine.
The libretto depicts the post-Confederation
political events bounded by the Indian and Métis uprisings of 1869–70 (Red River Rebellion
) and 1884–5 (North-West Rebellion
) and the personal tragedy of the leader of the uprisings, the Manitoba schoolteacher and Métis hero Louis Riel. After the premiere, Kenneth Winters described the opera in the Toronto Telegram
(25 September 1967) as a 'pastiche ... big, efficient, exciting, heterogeneous ... It had no ring of eternity but it was a vigorous harnessing of current and choice; a brash, smart, cool hand on the pulse of a number of fashions, social, dramatic and musical.' The production was repeated in 1968 in Toronto—six performances with the assistance of the Chalmers Foundation—and was adapted by Franz Kraemer
in 1969 for CBC TV.
In 1975 Louis Riel was revived by the Canadian Opera Company
for several performances, including one in Toronto, 27 September, honouring the International Music Council
's 16th General Assembly; three (14, 16, and 18 October) at the National Arts Centre
, Ottawa
; and one (23 October, the U.S. premiere) at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
, as part of Canada's contribution to the United States' bicentennial celebrations. Wendell Margrave of the Washington Star
described the opera as 'one of the most imaginative and powerful scores to have been written in this century.'
Using a broadcast tape from the 1975 US performance, Centrediscs produced a three-record set of the complete opera (CMC-24/25/2685-3), which was launched in November 1985 at the 'Image of Riel in Canadian Culture' conference in Guelph
, Ontario. Feldbrill conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra
, Turgeon and Roslak repeated their roles, and were joined by Donald Rutherford (Sir John A. Macdonald), Jean-Pierre Hurteau (Bishop Taché), Diane Loeb (Riel's mother), Ann Cooper (his sister), Ronald Bermingham (McDougall), and Remo Marinucci (Lépine).
'Kuyas'—the lullaby sung in Act III by Riel's wife to their child—was used prior to the opera's premiere as the test piece for the [Montreal International Competition in 1967. It was recorded in 1983 by Roslak on Centrediscs CMC-1183.
Louis Riel was not presented again until Opera McGill gave the first full staging in 30 years, at Place des Arts
, 27–28 January 2005, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of McGill University
's music program. Riel was played by Luc Lalonde, Macdonald by Michael Meraw, and Bishop Taché by John Taylor; François Racine was stage director and Alexis Hauser, music director. The revival won an Opus Award as event of the year.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by the Canadian composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Harry Somers
Harry Somers
Harry Stewart Somers, CC was the foremost English-Canadian composer of his period.He was born in middle-class Toronto in 1925 but did not become interested in music until his early teenage years, when he met a doctor and his wife, both pianists, who introduced him to classical music...
.
This full length opera was written for the 1967 Canadian centennial
Canadian Centennial
The Canadian Centennial was a year long celebration held in 1967 when Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Celebrations occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. 1967 coins were different from previous years' issues, with animals on each...
. It concerns the controversial Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
leader Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
, who was executed in 1885, and is one of Somers' biggest pieces.
It is arguably the most famous Canadian opera. Somers set the music to an English and French libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Mavor Moore
Mavor Moore
James Mavor Moore, CC, OBC was a Canadian writer, producer, actor, public servant, critic, and educator.-Biography:...
and Jacques Languirand. The opera was commissioned by the Floyd S. Chalmers Foundation and produced by the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
with financial assistance from the Canadian Centennial Commission, the Canada Council
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...
, and the Province of Ontario Council for the Arts (Ontario Arts Council
Ontario Arts Council
The Ontario Arts Council is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to promote and assist the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of all Ontarians...
).
Performance history
Louis Riel had its first performances at the O'Keefe Centre in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
23 and 28 September and 11 October 1967 and at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts
Place des Arts
right|frame|View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the rightPlace des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
, in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
19 and 21 October 1967. Victor Feldbrill
Victor Feldbrill
Victor Feldbrill, OC, O.Ont, FRHCM, is a Canadian conductor and violinist.He attended Harbord Collegiate Institute at an early age....
conducted, Leon Major
Leon Major
Leon Major is a Canadian opera and theatre director. He is the Artistic Director of The Maryland Opera Studio for the University of Maryland, College Park...
directed, and Murray Laufer and Marie Day designed the sets and costumes. The original cast included Bernard Turgeon as Riel, Cornelis Opthof as Sir John A. Macdonald, Joseph Rouleau
Joseph Rouleau
Joseph A. Rouleau, is a French-Canadian bass opera singer, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertories....
as Monseigneur Taché
Alexandre-Antonin Taché
Alexandre-Antonin Taché was a Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Oblate order, author and the first Archbishop of Saint Boniface in the Canadian province of Manitoba.In late 1844 Taché entered the Oblate novitiate...
, Patricia Rideout as Riel's mother, Mary Morrison as his sister, Roxolana Roslak as his wife, Howell Glynne
Howell Glynne
Howell Glynne was a Welsh operatic bass. He lived for the latter years of his life in Canada, and taught singing at the University of Toronto....
as William McDougall
William McDougall (politician)
Sir William McDougall PC CB was a Canadian lawyer, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation.Born near York, Upper Canada...
, and Ermanno Mauro as Baptiste Lépine.
The libretto depicts the post-Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
political events bounded by the Indian and Métis uprisings of 1869–70 (Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
) and 1884–5 (North-West Rebellion
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
) and the personal tragedy of the leader of the uprisings, the Manitoba schoolteacher and Métis hero Louis Riel. After the premiere, Kenneth Winters described the opera in the Toronto Telegram
Toronto Telegram
The Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
(25 September 1967) as a 'pastiche ... big, efficient, exciting, heterogeneous ... It had no ring of eternity but it was a vigorous harnessing of current and choice; a brash, smart, cool hand on the pulse of a number of fashions, social, dramatic and musical.' The production was repeated in 1968 in Toronto—six performances with the assistance of the Chalmers Foundation—and was adapted by Franz Kraemer
Franz Kraemer
Franz Kraemer, was a Canadian radio producer.In 1981, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 1987.-External links:* at The Canadian Encyclopedia...
in 1969 for CBC TV.
In 1975 Louis Riel was revived by the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
for several performances, including one in Toronto, 27 September, honouring the International Music Council
International Music Council
The International Music Council was created in 1949 as UNESCO's advisory body on matters of music. It is based at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, where it functions as an independent international non-governmental organization...
's 16th General Assembly; three (14, 16, and 18 October) at the National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
; and one (23 October, the U.S. premiere) at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, as part of Canada's contribution to the United States' bicentennial celebrations. Wendell Margrave of the Washington Star
Washington Star
The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
described the opera as 'one of the most imaginative and powerful scores to have been written in this century.'
Using a broadcast tape from the 1975 US performance, Centrediscs produced a three-record set of the complete opera (CMC-24/25/2685-3), which was launched in November 1985 at the 'Image of Riel in Canadian Culture' conference in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario. Feldbrill conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
, Turgeon and Roslak repeated their roles, and were joined by Donald Rutherford (Sir John A. Macdonald), Jean-Pierre Hurteau (Bishop Taché), Diane Loeb (Riel's mother), Ann Cooper (his sister), Ronald Bermingham (McDougall), and Remo Marinucci (Lépine).
'Kuyas'—the lullaby sung in Act III by Riel's wife to their child—was used prior to the opera's premiere as the test piece for the [Montreal International Competition in 1967. It was recorded in 1983 by Roslak on Centrediscs CMC-1183.
Louis Riel was not presented again until Opera McGill gave the first full staging in 30 years, at Place des Arts
Place des Arts
right|frame|View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the rightPlace des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
, 27–28 January 2005, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
's music program. Riel was played by Luc Lalonde, Macdonald by Michael Meraw, and Bishop Taché by John Taylor; François Racine was stage director and Alexis Hauser, music director. The revival won an Opus Award as event of the year.
Roles
- Louis RielLouis RielLouis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
- Sir John A. MacdonaldJohn A. MacdonaldSir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
- MonseigneurMonseigneurMonseigneur is an honorific in the French language. It has occasional English use as well, as it may be a title before the name of a French prelate, a member of a royal family or other dignitary. Also it is sometimes used as a name for a Frenchman who has a position on the court.Monsignor is both...
Alexandre-Antonin TachéAlexandre-Antonin TachéAlexandre-Antonin Taché was a Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Oblate order, author and the first Archbishop of Saint Boniface in the Canadian province of Manitoba.In late 1844 Taché entered the Oblate novitiate... - Riel's Mother
- Riel's Sister
- William McDougallWilliam McDougall (politician)Sir William McDougall PC CB was a Canadian lawyer, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation.Born near York, Upper Canada...
- Baptiste Lépine