Canadas first lesbian opera premieres at Vancouvers Queer Arts Festival that runs July 24 to Aug. 9.
Composer Leslie Uyeda jumped at the chance to create an opus for the sixth annual festival because she yearned to see herself reflected on stage after four decades of working in opera.
Im tired of so many women characters in opera having to die. Im sick of it, said Uyeda who still loves Verdi and Mozart.
She wanted to create a dramatic opera about same-sex love that would appeal to a broad audience and wasnt wholly depressing.
Uyeda believes the ups and downs in her and poet Rachel Roses work, When the Sun Comes Out, will make the story compelling for diverse audiences.
Rose agrees.
Its really the story of our times, Rose said. When you look at forbidden loves like Romeo and Juliet, of course that still happens all over the world to some extent between men and women, but right now where the pushback is happening and where the dramatic change is happening is in gay and lesbian relationships.
Set in an imaginary country called Fundamentalia where violation of gender roles is punishable by death, When the Sun Comes Out illuminates a love affair between Lilah, a young, sheltered, wealthy married mother, and her English as a second language teacher Solana, a gender outlaw and rebellious outsider from Montreal. Their relationship in a country where same-sex love is punishable by death is further threatened when Lilahs enraged and unpredictable husband Javan discovers the affair. The opera explores the oppression that queers face and the risks they take in nations where homosexuality is illegal.
Personal experience compelled Rose to write about what its like as a same-sex couple to face immigration battles and to feel like you have no home. Rose, whos a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., and her partner whos originally from France, faced obstructions 20 years ago, and Rose recognizes such struggles continue.
In Russia if youre gay you can be arrested and imprisoned even if youre a foreign tourist and yet Russias hosting the Olympics and so every country is going to have to grapple with that in terms of human rights, she said. And in Uganda theyre debating whether or not homosexuality should result in the death penalty.
Uyeda, who served as chorus music director for Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Opera for years, has composed music for the five-piece ensemble thats meant to reflect the extroverted, somewhat spiky but vulnerable Solana, the more desperate and tender Lilah and the gruffer Jovan. The music moves with the story as each character embarks on his or her own journey.
When the Sun Comes Out was performed as a workshop with piano only to a sold-out crowd at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre last year and received a standing ovation.
The Pride in Art Society that organizes the festival commissioned Uyeda and Rose to create an opera for the festival of visual art, music, dance, theatre, literary and media arts. Uyeda commends the society for supporting the production thats directed by James Fagan Tait, with a set and lighting by the Belfry Theatre in Victorias Bryan Kenney and costumes by Mara Gottler of Bard on the Beach. Teiya Kasahara plays Solana, Julia Morgan plays Lilah and Aaron Durand is Jovan.
The Queer Arts Festival and community group Rainbow Refugee are holding a discussion forum July 28 to give voice to true-life stories connected to the issues raised by the opera: homophobic violence, migration and the search for community and home. Attendees will see a sneak preview of When the Sun Comes Out. The free event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at SFU Woodwards World Art Centre, 149 West Hastings. St.
When the Sun Comes Out runs Aug. 5, 7 and 9 at the Roundhouse. For more information, see queerartsfestival.com.
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