A Coquitlam native who founded an opera company is staging a Canadian premiere next month in Vancouver.
Debi Wong of re:Naissance Opera is mounting the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Angel’s Bone at IndieFest, which the Yale University graduate also founded.
The show, which runs from Nov. 25 to 27 at The Annex Theatre (823 Seymour St.), tells a tale of two young angels who fall to Earth; it contains mature themes about child and youth trafficking and sexual exploitation.
“Many people don’t realize that trafficking and sexual exploitation of youth happens in our local communities at an alarming rate,” Wong said in a news release.
“It is the result of many intertwining systems and behaviours that we all unknowing contribute to: racial and gender stereotypes, hyper sexualization of women and girls, and toxic masculinity.
“We hope Angel’s Bone will help people recognize how these issues perpetuate dangerous power dynamics that make it easy for children to be unseen and at-risk in our societies,” Wong added.
There’s also another Tri-City connection to the opera: Winona Myles, a multi-disciplinary artist from the Secwépemc Nation who portrays the girl angel, grew up performing in the Tri-Cities.
Created in 2015 by Chinese–American composer Du Yun, Angel’s Bone has a Canadian librettist: Royce Vavrek.
Besides re:Naissance Opera, the musical production is also being presented by South the Alarm: Music/Theatre; Turning Point Ensemble; Arraymusic; and Loose Tea Music Theatre.
The performance dates and times are as follows:
- Friday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. (pre-show chat at 6:30 p.m.)
- Saturday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. (pre-show chat at 6:30 p.m.)
- Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. (pre-show chat at 1 p.m.)
For tickets starting at $45, go to angelsbone.eventbrite.ca.
For information about IndieFest, visit indiefest.eventbrite.ca.
