VIDEO
Namwayut
with Calgary Opera.
Namwayut is a word in Kwak’wala meaning "we are all one.".
The piece grew out of Canadian opera singer and dramaturg Marion Newman’s artistic impulse to conceptualize and create an opera under Indigenous leadership in an entirely new way.
This project was a collaboration of singers, composers, a librettist and musicians that allowed each artist’s voice to be heard and held with respect, equal weight and a sense of community. Working in this new way, they planted the seeds of an operatic work based on elements from the oral history of First Nations storytelling that celebrates the resilience of Indigenous peoples and their enduring connection to the land.
Indians on Vacation
The Wild Rose Opera Project
A micro-adaptation of Thomas King’s recent Indians on Vacation, the novel chronicles the Prague vacation of a contemporary Indigenous couple. The scene creates a musical portrait of the protagonist, Bird, as he confronts his inner demons.
Music by Ian Cusson | Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Based on the novel by Thomas King
Gallery
Voice of Mountains
A moving fusion of song and dance, this clip features mezzo-soprano Marion Newman, pianist Gordon Gerrard, and original choreography by dancer Aria Evans,
Voices of Mountains premiered on January 15, 2022.
Kinanu (for Ellen)
This is a lullaby I wrote for my sister Ellen when I was small and she was smaller. Kinanu means baby in Kwa’kwala. Live performance with Anne Thompson, flute and Peter Longworth, piano with the Talisker Players.
The Prayer
Marion singing The Prayer with her brother Carey Newman and Melody Courage, soprano in the 2001 Aboriginal Achievement Awards broadcast on CBC television.
Shawnadithit
Shanawdithit is a new opera project commissioned by Opera on the Avalon in partnership with Tapestry Opera, starring Marion Newman in the title role.
Missing
A new chamber opera by Métis playwright Marie Clements and composer Brian Current, Missing gives voice, in English and Gitxsan, to the story of Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women. (Premiered in 2017)
Il barbiere di Siviglia
Pembroke native baritone Joshua Hopkins (Figaro) and mezzo-soprano Marion Newman (Rosina) perform a scene from Opera Lyra's rollicking production of The Barber of Seville.
Singing the Earth
Continuum Music
Composer: Anna Höstman
Marion Newman (mezzo-soprano),
Ensemble: Max Christie (clarinets and recorder), Wallace Halladay (saxophones), Carol Lynn Fujino (violin), Kristen Bruya (bass), Laurent Philippe (piano and organ), Joseph Macerollo (accordion), Ryan Scott (percussion), Gregory Oh (conductor) Collaborators: Anna Höstman, Dylan Robinson, Patrick Nickleson
Tuba Mirum - Mozart
This multi-disciplinary presentation in collaboration with Against the Grain Theatre invites us to reckon with the impact of COVID-19 and devastating losses—and heal together through the power of Mozart’s astonishingly moving Requiem. In this scene, soloists Vartan Gabrielian, Andrew Haji, Marion Newman and Midori Marsh sing "Tuba mirum" from Mozart's Requiem.
Migrations
Inspired by real life experiences, Welsh National Opera explore different tales of migration in a brand-new epic opera, Migrations. Over 100 incredible singers bring the story to life, all enhanced by an exhilarating score full of film music, Indian classical music and musical theatre influences.
The Lesson of da Ji, Act I Scene 1: The Lesson
The Lesson of da Ji, Act I Scene 1: Act I Scene 1: The Lesson · Marion Newman
Ho: The Lesson of Da Ji