When you get the gift of a good story, you don’t waste it, you share it. Good Story is a new Indigenous opera by Robert Hunter.
Robert Hunter, composer and librettist, presents songs from his first opera, explaining who he is while starting to unravel the workings of his family’s origin around the experimental File Hills Indigenous farming colony. He is now co-writing a follow-up with Caroline Russell-King.
The song salon features the talents of pianist and organist Ethan Hill who is an in-demand accompanist and composer in Calgary, and soprano Lauren Woods who is a nationally performing opera artist with studies at UBC & McGill, Mezzo-soprano Jeanine Williams who works with Calgary Opera sharing compelling artistry, and baritone Adam Brousseau, who brings commanding & sensitive nuance to operatic roles throughout Western Canada while giving voice to his Metis ancestry.
THE CAST:
Lauren Woods, soprano, has performed in operas, oratorios and concerts from coast to coast. As a born-and-raised Calgarian, she was thrilled to return home as one of Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artists in 2016-2017. She completed a Master’s in Voice at McGill under the tutelage of Aline Kutan and a bachelor’s degree in Opera at UBC. Lauren was a finalist in the Wirth Vocal Competition in Montreal, and was one of six Canadians invited to the International Belvedere competition in Amsterdam. Notable performances include Alice in Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the title role in Handel’s Rodelinda, Amy in Adamo’s Little Women, Adina in L’Elisir D’amore, Gretel in Hansel und Gretel, the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Susanna in La Nozze di Figaro, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nannetta in Falstaff, and Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte. Aside from performing, Lauren is a voice actor, visual artist, festival adjudicator, mother of two and teaches voice and piano through her private studio.
Jeanine Williams is quoted as a “lovely” mezzo-soprano (NCOS) noted for the “size and character of her singing, and her thoughtful musicality.” (classicalottawa.com) She is currently based in Calgary, Alberta where she works in disability-arts education for Calgary Opera. Williams also runs her own therapeutic and recreation music and wellness studio, Medela YYC. Williams is also studying at City University completing her Masters of Counseling, and enjoys other creative outlets such as creative writing and her drag persona (The Frizz!) Following her Master of Music at the University of Ottawa Ms. Williams has freelanced across Canada and abroad in Austria. Some of Williams’ operatic highlights include Dido (Dido and Aeneas ), Mother (Hansel und Gretel) and Mimi (La bohème). Williams’ recent performances include work with Calgary Concert Opera Company (CCOC), presenting a Voice and Organ recital and Mother’s Day concert with Ethan Hill. Upcoming engagements include featured soloist in a program with Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Williams aspires to create healing spaces through genuine connection, as well as creative arts and to assist in wider Canadian exposure to operatic culture.
Commanding the stage, bass-baritone Adam Brousseau is a dynamic performer and creator in Western Canada.
A regular on the recital stage, Adam has collaborated with musicians, symphonies and performers across Alberta and Western Canada as well as internationally in Mexico, France and Germany. From Lieder, Art Song, Cabaret, early American Jazz and Classic Broadway repertoire, he is finding a footing as a Golden-Age revivalist musician. This past spring, Adam premiered his show Take Me To The World, a narrative biographic work portraying the life and music of Stephen Sondheim starring himself and Lauren Woods collaborating with Ron Bennie on piano, in a similar vein to his show An Evening With Cole Porter in 2019, performed with the Clicquot Trio. He is now pleased to announce another upcoming collaborative work showcasing the lives and music of George & Ira Gershwin, Gershwin and the Boys with a group of some of Calgary’s finest jazz musicians.
Adam has performed many times as a chorister for Calgary Opera, and had his Canadian Premiere as the Jailer in their production of Tosca in 2018. Other roles include: Yeoman Quale in South Pacific, the High Priest in Samson and Dalila, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Kip in The Double Hook, Balthazar in Amahl and The Night Visitors.
www.adambrousseau.com
Ethan Hill is a musician, composer and inquisitive mind. Showing an interest in music at an early age, Ethan studied piano and theory throughout his childhood while also experimenting with several other instruments. He later pursued music in post secondary, studying composition at the University of Victoria, where he also trained as a liturgical musician at St. John the Divine Anglican Church. In 2019, he relocated to Montreal to study the organ at McGill University, during which time he held an organ scholarship at Christ Church Cathedral and worked with the Quatuor Bozzini.
His work in the church sparked his fascination with metaphysics, symbolism and ontology, which he continues to explore today. All of this ultimately manifests itself through his compositions, where he explores intonation theory, sound cognition as well as his curiosity for the ineffable.
Currently, he works with several artistic groups including the Alberta Ballet, the University of Calgary and Sacred Heart Church & Columbarium, and dedicates his free time to his personal creative endeavours and research. He continues to develop his artistry through residencies such as the Banff Centre for Art and Creativity’s Evolution: Quartet 2022, the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab, and most recently at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix on the beautiful St. Lawrence River in Quebec.
Rob Hunter is a Calgary-based composer and performing artist. He has appeared throughout Canada with Puente Theatre, Gwaandak Theatre & National Arts Centre Northern Scene, Intrepid Theatre, Belfry Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, Full Circle: First Nations Performance, and The Trial of Louis Riel by RielCo Productions, as well as producing, performing, and touring his own works. Rob has written for large wind ensemble and powwow voice, collaborated with Indonesian Gamelan orchestra, and participated in many other interesting projects such as performances where artists and audience are seated in canoes. Rob studied trombone performance as well as composing and arranging with Ian McDougall, then completed the Full Circle: First Nations Performance Ensemble Training program in Vancouver. Rob found a passion in telling stories of his family, and learning about his heritage, for instance that Plains Cree does not typically use capital letters. He is now collaborating with librettist Caroline Russell-King creating the opera sakochihtaw He Conquers as well as composing for Calgary Opera’s Opera212 initiative.
www.notesbyrob.com
