On April 19, 2017, the Canadian Opera Company is hosting a closed meeting at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, organized by Dr. Dylan Robinson of Queen’s University, to discuss First Nations song protocol and the use of Indigenous songs in Canadian compositions, such as Harry Somers’ Louis Riel.

By Claudine Domingue, Director of Public Relations

During the summer of 2016, the COC’s Director of Public Relations, Claudine Domingue, spoke with singers and creative team members who were part of the original 1967 production of Louis Riel. Sadly, Bernard Turgeon, who originated the role of Louis Riel, passed away in October 2016, just a few short months after this interview took place. We are grateful that his memories of this iconic Canadian work, along with those of the rest of these great artists, have been preserved and are now being shared with a new generation of Louis Riel audiences.

In conjunction with the our new production of Harry Somers’ Louis Riel, FREE events are taking place in Toronto throughout the month of April, allowing the general public to discover this uniquely Canadian contribution to the opera world, as well as the Métis history and cultural traditions that inspired the operatic tale of the Métis leader and Canada’s westward expansion.