From Book to Stage
For me, dramaturgical work always begins by immersing myself in the source material that inspired the opera—in this case it is the book Flight of The Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas. A deceptively simple parable, it conveys in just a few elegant words a clear message of resilience and hope, empowering all of us to choose the path of the Hummingbird and affect momentous change with personal action.
The initial challenge facing our creative team was preserving the essence of our source story while expanding it meaningfully into a chamber length opera. As dramaturg /director, my role was to support the creators in a rigorous exploration of the new story elements that emerged as the opera evolved from the original story.
In a series of intense workshops, and months of emails and phone calls, we worked to create a compelling story of life in the forest before the arrival of the fire. Librettists Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and Barry Gilson wanted to create a dynamic exchange between four very different characters—Hummingbird, Bear, Bunny and Owl—and have that exchange culminate in the defining action of Dukdukdiya, our tiny Hummingbird.
As dramaturg in these workshops, I tried to imagine myself as the audience, hearing and experiencing the story for the first time. Each character and their actions needed be clear to the audience and contribute to the overall narrative arc of the story. Through literally hundreds of changes and many drafts, our creative team has worked to create an opera we are proud to be sharing with you on this tour.
Glynis Leyshon
Director, The Flight of the Hummingbird
Timeline of The Flight of the Hummingbird
September 22, 2016
Colleen Maybin (Director Education and Community Engagement, Vancouver Opera) met author Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas when he spoke at Simon Fraser University as part of the 2016 President’s Dream Colloquium on Returning to the Teachings: Justice, Identity, and Belonging. Michael’s presentation focused on his intriguing graphic novel Red. After the presentation, Colleen approached Michael to arrange for further conversation as she felt that Michael’s work held the potential to inspire a new opera for young audiences.
January 25, 2017
After a few months of correspondence, a lunch was arranged to introduce Michael and his creative partner Barry Gilson to key members of the Vancouver Opera staff and donors. The discussion focused on the nature of the Vancouver Opera in Schools touring program and the operas that resonate with its target audience of elementary aged children. Based on this conversation, the entire group felt that another book by Michael, Flight of the Hummingbird – a parable for the environment would both entertain and educate elementary and middle school students about climate change.
March 27, 2017
The idea was shared with Vancouver Opera staff and the decision was made –Vancouver Opera will produce a new opera for the Vancouver Opera in School touring program entitled The Flight of the Hummingbird,
April 10, 2017
Staff at Vancouver Opera reached out to Pacific Opera Victoria to enquire about a co-commission of the new work. In the past, the two companies had maintained separate touring programs but this opportunity felt like the right moment to collaborate on an opera that would tour across the entire province. Pacific Opera Victoria agreed and the co-commission started to take shape.
January, 2018
In early 2018, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and Barry Gilson officially came on board as co-librettists and co-creative designers. Together, they would write the text and conceive the visual aspects of the opera including the set, props, and costumes. After a country wide search for a composer, Montreal-based composer Maxime Goulet joined the creative team. The team was complete when director/dramaturg Glynis Leyshon agreed to work on the project.
July 26, 2018
The first full meeting of the creative team took place in late July. Originally conceived as an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other, the two days turned into a review of the first draft of the libretto!
September 27, 2018
The Hummingbird Advisory Council meets for the first time
From the beginning, the opera was conceived as a provocation for learning. Vancouver Opera in Schools has always included a robust education plan that seeks to educate students through opera, not about opera. Looking through the lens of the BC curriculum, The Flight of the Hummingbird held great potential to not only empower young people to take action on climate change but to do so in a way that included Indigenous ways of knowing. An advisory council featuring Indigenous artists, educators, and elders was established to guide the process of creating a study guide that honoured the Indigenous content while also supporting teachers in building relationships with the local nations they live in.
December 1, 2018
Libretto Workshop – Pacific Opera Victoria
The first workshop took place at the Bauman Centre at Pacific Opera Victoria. The creative team were joined by musical dramaturg Kinza Tyrrell as well as four actors. Over the course of a week, the creative team worked on the libretto with feedback from the actors. On the final day of the workshop, members of the community were invited to a presentation of the work thus far.
Libretto Workshop Cast
Dukdukdiya (Hummingbird)- Kim Harvey
Bunny- Celine Studel
Bear- Aaron Wells
Owl- Brian Linds
May 4, 2019
Music Workshop #1 – The Annex, Vancouver BC
Once the libretto was in shape, Maxime began composing the score. The first music workshop took place during the 2019 Vancouver Opera Festival. For the first time opera singers started to bring the music and story to life. The final presentation was preceded a full day of professional development workshops for educators along side community events that explored the space between Indigenous teachings and Western art music.
Music Workshop #1 – Cast
Dukdukdiya (Hummingbird) Melody Courage
Bunny- Emma Parkinson
Bear- Nolan Kehler
Owl- Willy Miles-Grenzberg
Pianist – Perri Lo
August 14, 2019
First design presentation
The production was going to be built by Pacific Opera Victoria and the talented crew at their Opera Shop – a 10,000 square foot production facility in Victoria. During the first design presentation, Michael and Barry presented the sketches of the sets, the costumes, and the props to the artistic staff who are responsible to bring their sketches to reality.
September/October, 2019
Auditions and Casting
Throughout the process, both companies had made a commitment to cast Indigenous artists at every step. When time came to cast the touring production, the call for artists was shared across the country and through channels that were new. Live auditions took place in Vancouver and artists from other parts of the country were encouraged to send in videos. The final cast includes artists from across Canada and includes two Indigenous opera singers. Once the touring cast was in place, understudies from the UBC/Vancouver Opera Pre-Professional Internship Program were selected from the UBC Opera Program.
November 13, 2019
Music Workshop #2 – O’Brian Centre for Vancouver Opera
The final music workshop brought together the creative team for the last opportunity to tweak the libretto and score.
Dukdukdiya -Heather Pawsey
Bunny- Emma Parkinson
Bear- Nolan Kehler
Owl- Willy Miles-Grenzberg
Pianist – Perri Lo
Cellist – Shiun Kim
December, 2019
With the score and libretto finalized, the artistic team in Victoria started to build the sets, props, and costumes while the education staff completed the study guide to be shared with schools. At this point, the tour itself is close to being completely booked and the tour managers are busy planning the logistics of the tour, including hotel rooms and ferry bookings.
3 January, 2020
Rehearsals for The Flight of the Hummingbird begin at the O’Brian Centre for Vancouver Opera. The rehearsal schedule is two weeks long, The artists work six days a week, six hours a day with the stage director (Glynis Leyshon), the music director (Kinza Tyrrell), and the movement director (Wendy Gorling). The rehearsal period comes to an end with a dress rehearsal at a local elementary school and a community preview for everyone who has been involved with creating the opera and their families.
20 January, 2020
First school performance at Queen Alexandria Elementary in Vancouver, BC.
12 March, 2020
COVID-19 Pandemic shuts down the tour.
2 April, 2024
The Flight of the Hummingbird returns with its first public school performance at Grandview Elementary, in Vancouver, BC with a new ensemble tour.