Sumidagawa & Curlew River
Opening 26 May 2010, City Opera (together with co-producers UBC Drama and Film, and Blackbird Theatre) gave the Canadian event premiere of Sumidagawa together with the opera it inspired, Benjamin Britten's Curlew River. The first, drawn from the 15th C Japanese Nöh play, starred Butoh artist Denise Fujiwara as Madwoman in a choreography by Natsu Nakajima. The second starred tenor Isaiah Bell as Madwoman, together with John Minágro, Sam Marcacinni, Joel Klein, and members of the Vancouver Cantata Singers. It was directed by John Wright of Blackbird Theatre, with scenography by Robert Gardiner of UBC Theatre and Film. In the course of preparing this production, City Opera pioneered the use of Skype with its out-of-town artists.
It was widely reviewed: "almost unbearably beautiful" -- Globe and Mail; "magnificent" -- Opera Canada; "magical, very enriching, captivating, mesmerizing" -- Joy Coghill; "I almost hesitate to write for fear my words of praise will be inadequate to describe last night's production. I think I should just say it was one of the most powerful, moving experiences I have ever had in the theatre, and I so admire City Opera Vancouver for its vision and courage in staging a presentation that bridged such an enormous cultural gap so successfully." -- Rosemary Cunningham, author, 'Bravo! The History of Opera in British Columbia'; "A powerful telling of the story" -- The Georgia Straight; "What a fantastic show. A delight to see, a delight to hear." -- George Zukerman; "Tenor Isaiah Bell as the Madwoman was breathtaking. He sustained an intensity of emotion which never toppled into hysteria. His restrained gestures, like the Madwoman’s simple, haunting curlew motif in the music, slowly built suppressed tension and let Britten’s music work its magic." -- Review Vancouver
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Famous quotes containing the word curlew:
“The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveler hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)