THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Honouring the land on which the opera is being performed is a way to activate the teachings of reconciliation.

This is an old story.
It is older than any tree but still younger than the mother forest
It is older than any paved highway but still younger than the mountains
First told on a mountain in the Altiplano
Then inscribed into the earthen walls under a roof that brushes the edge of the sky
It is a timeless story.
It does not begin with “Once upon a time”
It doesn’t really have an end
It does not have fantastical heroes defeating evil forces and
Maybe that is because these things are not really as important as the one thing this story has
It has you
And the something you will do

—Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Author Flight of the Hummingbird – A Parable for the Environment

AN INVITATION TO CONSIDER

The story behind the opera itself is equally important. From the beginning of the creative process, it has been Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’s interpretation of the parable that is at the centre of the opera. This is an important distinction because as producers, Vancouver Opera and Pacific Opera Victoria were not seeking to create an opera based on an Indigenous story – the intent was to produce an opera written and created by an Indigenous artist.

Michael’s mother is Haida, his father Scottish. Self-taught, his unique artistic style is informed by lessons learned from Chinese painter Cai Ben Kwon. The result is a conscious fusion of Haida and Asian artistic influences called Haida manga. Michael describes Haida manga as ‘blending North Pacific Indigenous iconographies and frame lines with the graphic dynamism of Asian manga. It is committed to hybridity as a positive force that opens a third space for critical engagement’. The artistic heritage of the opera is informed by the lived experience of not only Michael, but of the other members of the creative team, composer Maxime Goulet, and director Glynis Leyshon. This collaboration is informed by a living Indigenous culture, the Haida and their outreaches into other regions of the world.

AN INVITATION TO CONSULT

Consulting with leaders from the local Indigenous Peoples’ government is an important aspect of preparing for the performance. Part of this process will include establishing expectations for remuneration and gifting for all Indigenous officials, Elders, storytellers, and/or knowledge keepers who participate in the work related to the performance. If your district does not have such staff members, you might consider contacting local native friendship centres, and Indigenous leaders within the community.

AN INVITATION TO ACKNOWLEDGE

Once the audience has gathered and before the performance begins, ensure that either a welcome from an Indigenous community member or an acknowledgement takes place. Use this moment as one of recognition, a welcome for all involved, and an invitation into relationship.

• Ask if it is possible to invite an Elder or other community member to offer a welcome to the territory and acknowledge that you will offer an honorarium.

• If an Elder or local leader is not available, begin with a land acknowledgement. Please see Bob Joseph’s (Gwawaenuk Nation) website for his article on First Nation Protocol on Traditional Territory for guidance in creating your own.

• Recognize the history of the story and the opera’s origins. Honouring the land on which the opera is being performed is a way to activate the teachings of reconciliation.

PRE-PERFORMANCE INSPIRATION

Here are some ideas from teachers who hosted a performance of The Flight of the Hummingbird in early 2020.

“We consulted and worked with our Indigenous Education Department to prepare for the performance. On the morning of the performance, we began with a local territorial acknowledgement and then the whole school came together in singing and drumming a Lekwungen celebration song.”

“Students from our local Nation led a presentation about their history and their families with the intermediate classes. Before the performance, two of the students did the land acknowledgement”

“We invited members of our local Nation to the performance as well as the head of Indigenous education at our district. We opened the assembly singing the Coast Salish anthem after the land acknowledgement was shared.”

“I worked with the Indigenous Support Worker at our school to invite members of our local Nation to the performance. Our ISW also led the land acknowledgement before the performance.”

“We watched the animated short before the performance. Afterwards, the Indigenous Support Worker spoke with the students about the story.”

A learning activity by Alex Chen

Introduction

The outside world is full of fascinating sounds: numerous varieties of birds, the wind in the trees, the footsteps of fellow classmates, and so much more!
In this activity, we will explore the sonic world around us and create a work of art together that reflects what we hear. Be open to surprises, delight, and curiosity!

OBJECTIVE

This activity is intended to deepen your student’s connection to the natural world and encourage active participation and engagement that connect to the themes of interdependence, connection, and care that the opera explores. It is also intended to help students use the sounds you hear to participate in citizen science that helps protect biodiversity and natural soundscapes.

Materials

• Sound Mapping:

  • Portable table

  • Bristol board

  • Coloured markers

  • Tape

  • Phone with Merlin Bird ID app (optional)

• Reflection:

  • Whiteboard or large sheet of paper

  • Whiteboard or regular marker

Instructions

1. Pick a spot: Find an outdoor area where you can safely listen to your surroundings with your eyes closed. Place your table at approximately the centre of the area.

2. Set up the map: Lay out the Bristol board on the table and secure it with tape. As a class, identify some landmarks in the area (e.g. trees, big rocks, buildings) and draw them on the map (can be done by teacher or student volunteer(s)).

3. Spread out: Spread out the members of your class to different spots in this area.

4. Listen & explore: Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you for 8 minutes. After the teacher announces that the 8 minutes has passed, open your eyes and keep listening for 2 more minutes—look around to see if you can find what is making the sounds you notice.

5. Map sounds: Come back together at the table and take turns describing what sounds you heard and where they were coming from. At the spots on the map where the sounds seemed to be coming from, draw pictures inspired by those sounds. These images could range anywhere from a picture of a bird to an abstract depiction of the texture of a particular sound (e.g. squiggly lines). When choosing your marker, ask yourself: what colour is this sound?

6. You’re done! Once everyone has had a chance to share their observations, your sound map is done! Snap a picture of it and share it with us on Instagram @pacificoperavictoria and @vancouveropera! We encourage you to put it up somewhere in your classroom as a reminder of the sonic world around us.

Optional: During step 4. Listen & explore, you can use a phone to run the Sound ID function in the Merlin Bird ID app. The app will record sounds and give possible bird identifications if it hears any birds. During or after step 5. Map sounds, you can use the bird IDs to zone in on what birds you might have heard. The app also allows you to play specific birds’ sounds. The first half of this video is a helpful tutorial to this function. 

Possible Modifications

• Staying together: should it fit class or safety needs better, step 3. Spread out can be skipped.

• Lengths of time: the lengths of time in step 4. Listen & explore can be adjusted based on class needs. Please note that if you go over 10 minutes and are using the Merlin Sound ID function, the app will ask you if you want to stop recording at the 10-minute mark.

• Clipboard & paper: instead of a table and Bristol board, a clipboard and paper can be used to make the sound map. This might suit smaller class sizes and/or situations where greater portability is needed. 

Reflection (~15 minutes)

Once you’re back in the classroom, gather at a whiteboard or large sheet of paper. On the writing surface, your teacher will make two columns: anthropogenic sounds (i.e. sounds made by humans and human activities) and natural sounds (i.e. from the wider natural world).

Assign the sounds you heard today to either anthropogenic sounds or natural sounds, leaving lots of space on the page between each entry.

As a class, respond to these questions about the sounds. Your teacher or a volunteer will write down your reflections beside the associated sounds.

• Which sounds did you like? Put a heart or smiley face beside them.

• Which sounds didn’t you like? Put a sad face beside them.

• Which sound was your favourite? Put a star beside this sound.

• How did different sounds make you feel?

• Note: depending on students’ experiences, some sounds might have both positive and negative symbols.

Once this reflection is completed, this is an opportunity for the teacher to discuss the class’ overall relationship with anthropogenic versus natural sounds. For example, anthropogenic sounds could be perceived as overbearing or alternatively familiar; natural sounds could be comforting or unexpected. 

Round out the discussion by introducing soundscape ecology (also called acoustic ecology by some). In all these activities, we’ve explored the sounds around us and how they affect us. Expanding off of this, soundscape ecology is an area of study that looks at how living things, including humans, relate to each other and their environment through sound. Sensitivity to soundscape ecology helps us contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and better understand how the sonic environment contributes to our own wellbeing.

We encourage you to send along a photo of your final chart—we love to see each class’ perspectives! @pacificoperavictoria @vancouveropera

Call to Action

From what you’ve learned today, we encourage you to continue your journey in soundscape ecology!

• Keep noticing the soundscape around you—find your favourite spots for listening and invite others to join in appreciating the sounds.

• Use the sounds you hear to participate in citizen science that helps protect biodiversity and natural soundscapes.

  • FrogWatch (naturewatch.ca) is a fun, accessible option, monitoring frogs through sound.

• Make visual arts inspired by the sounds around you – share your finished visual art with us by tagging us on Instagram!

• Using a sound recorder (e.g. smartphone), record sounds around you. Using sound editing programs like Audacity (free), make your own music or soundscape out of the sounds you collected—share your finished sound art with us by getting in touch on Instagram!

  • The Citizen Soundscape is a crowd-sourced example.

Terms

Soundscape: an immersive, auditory environment; can be used to describe the assemblage of sounds in a given environment or in a work of sound art.

Soundscape ecology: the study of the relationship between living things (including humans) and the sounds of their environment.

Anthropogenic sound/anthrophony: sound generated by humans and their electro-mechanical technologies (e.g. cars) in a given environment.

Geophony: naturally-occurring, non-biological sounds in a given environment, such as wind, water, and thunder.

Biophony: sounds created by non-human organisms in a given environment, such as birds’ songs.

Biodiversity: the variety of life in a given environment.

Resources

How Do Birds Sing Over City Noise? - Frontiers for Young Minds

Vanishing birdsong: How climate change is altering Canada’s soundscape - Canadian Geographic

Listening to Ocean Sounds for Research and Conservation - Ocean Decade

The race to understand how kelp forests dampen ocean noise — before it’s too late - The Narwhal

Citizen Science, Education, & Outreach by the Southwest Acoustic Ecology Lab - NOAA Fisheries

Wild Sounds: The Loss of Sonic Diversity and Why It Matters - Yale E360

How urban soundscapes affect humans and wildlife - The Conversation

Conservation and climate action go together - David Suzuki Foundation

Taansi. Aaniin. Hello. My name is Rebecca Hass.

My name is Rebecca and the spirits know me by the name The Voice of the Loon on the Lake (Anishinaabemowin).

I have introduced myself in Anishinaabemowin. This would be very close to the language that my ancestors spoke. I am Métis, from a community in Georgian Bay, Ontario, and I have many Anishinaabe relatives, and so I'm very delighted to share that language. I have been taught that when I use that language, my ancestors know where I am, and they can hear me and come and walk with me. Since we're on a nature walk today, I'm very happy to welcome my ancestors along with me.

I'm here today on lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) territory in Victoria, British Columbia. I have been a very grateful visitor here since 2005. This is beautiful territory, and it has been stewarded by the lək̓ʷəŋən people. Today we're going to learn a little bit about how I walk softly on this land to honour the people who've cared for this land, and to become part of the story of this land by how I see myself interrelated to everything that we're going to see on our walk.

When we start out on a walk on the land, I want you to bring your attention to your feet. If this were not winter and very wet here right now, I probably would've come in my moccasins, but actually I'm wearing a more practical boot, but that doesn't change the fact that I can think about the land that I walk on. Wherever you go for your next walk, why not listen to your footfall and feel the Earth below you?

When you're in bare feet and you walk on the land, you feel all the little pieces. You feel all the little bits of stones, little bits of wood, and even though you can't feel these in your boots, I want you to imagine it because it changes how you walk. You want to walk softly because this is our mother, Mother Earth, and so it's really important that we treat her with respect.

Often we clomp around and pay no attention to what we're crushing under our feet, but here on the land, I want to invite you just to walk softly and feel your footfall. You can press through from heel to toe, heel to toe, and just see what that feels like. Here in the wet season, it's much softer. If I were to do this in the summer, it would feel firmer. That tells me something about the land and it tells me about the season, and it probably tells me how I need to be in relationship to this land.

In a slow walk like this, now that I can hear the birds, I can actually start to look and see all the different colors that even the wintertime offers us on our territory. If you take a look, you can see the mosses, so many kinds of green. The little white berries that the birds are probably finding quite delicious this time of the year? Maybe.

Even when we start to look at the leaves that have died or the trees that are falling apart and rotting, we can actually see the cycle of life, and it's a good reminder for me I'm part of this cycle, a cycle in the spring of planting and growing and fresh green, but also a cycle of winter when things die off, allowing the soil to regenerate and new things to come. This is all available to you when you go for a walk. In fact, let's go find one of those rotting trees right now.

When you're out in the woods and you have a chance to stop, you can really begin to appreciate logs like this. We see these all over territories here in British Columbia, rotting logs, and first of all, we've been talking about our senses. We've been talking about our footfall. We've been talking about what we hear, the urban world as well as the wild world, and now we're talking about what we see.

You can look at there are so many kinds of brown and tans and beiges and the richness of the colors, and we can stop and take all of that in and we can let our mind roam, the artist in you who can actually think about what they might paint or draw, or the things it reminds you about in your life.

This is a tree that's done its job, it's lived its life, and now it's living a different kind of life. It's allowing other things to grow out of it, and everything that comes from it as it rots makes new life come. That's a beautiful thing we can find if we take the time in the forest to look at it, and not just see things as dead and as inanimate. They're not. They're actually still life-givers. They're creating new life, even in this state.

I want to talk a little bit about wind. On this particular walk we don't have a lot of wind, and so I can't really show you the trees moving and you can't hear it on this walk, but you can certainly see on the ground what's happened with the last windstorm here.

I want to talk a little bit about when you're walking and the wind. There are natural elements that we sometimes want to push against. We feel like, "I don't want wind in my face. I probably should have wore a hat." When you're out on a gratitude walk, I want you to think about what wind does.

Wind actually takes all of the leaves off the trees for us in the fall. We need that, because that's what goes into the soil and creates all that richness that can grow, as you can see here, grasses, and these grasses are the lifeblood of our kin, the deer. This is what they eat. You can think about all the organic little microbes. You can think about grasshoppers and ants and everything that lives inside of here, rabbits who go through here.

When we've been out walking in the forest, I've been asking us to tune into our footfall and to really feel how our foot presses through on the earth, even when we're wearing our shoes. Quite honestly, I know that for most of us, we spend a lot of our life walking on a trail that is pavement or tarmac, and then we may think that we're not walking on the Earth anymore. We don't even have to think about it. It's as if there was a buffer built in for us.

I want to invite you in this moment to think about, anytime that you are walking on pavement or concrete, don't let that fool you. Underneath this is Mother Earth, the very thing that we want to connect to and protect, that nourishes us. When you walk on this, it's just a little bit more of a nudge, as we walk on this, to actually think about what's underneath this pavement, and not disregard it and not think, "Well, there's nothing but more pavement," because we know that's not true. There are more good things from Mother Earth underneath here. I'm going to keep the very same thought when I walk on pavement. It's just a little more work than when I walk on the grass.

Thank you for taking the time to come with me on this gratitude walk, and I hope the next time that you're out on the land, wherever you live, you take a moment to walk. Slow down, feel the Earth, hear the birds, and notice what you are grateful for. Miigwech. Maarsii. Thank you.

Credits for Walk of Gratitude

Cinematography by Ashley Daniel Foot
Edited by Fletcher Lenz
Produced by Ashley Daniel Foot and Rebecca Hass

I wanted to share a song with you. I have been taught that before I share the song, it’s really important that I share with you how the song came to me. I know that the music comes out of the land and the songs come from the land. All of the songs that come to me carry a teaching so it’s important for me to pay attention when I hear the song: what I’m doing, where I am, and what’s around me.

This particular song came to me on a full moon in December. I was creating salves for medicines, from my garden that I had gathered in the fall. As I took time in between rounds of creating the salve and pouring it into the tins, I would go out onto my deck. I have many birds on my deck and all of my medicine plants. It’s winter so all of my plants are sleeping and waiting. This song came and I have since thought quite a bit about this song. It is my belief that this is a song that actually has to do with my garden, which has to do with the natural world and with the land.

The first round is actually the springtime. When we begin to hope that our plants will grow, the sun is starting to peek through, and the ground is still wet. In the second round of this song, we get into summertime and things are growing. The pace picks up because things are verdant and growing quite tall. The third round takes us to the fall. This is a time of harvest and has a “you can’t wait!” If you’ve ever had anything growing in your garden, you know that if the tomato is ready today you’d better pick it today because it is going to be rotten in two days. So there is a sense, and you’ll hear it in the drum beat, that we have to actually get after it.

The last one I’m going to play the rim of the drum, rather than the centre. Because it’s heading into the wintertime and it’s a time when everything again is dormant. In wintertime I think of the sound of tree branches in the wind. If you listen to the drum beats you’ll hear part of the story even though the melody of the song doesn’t shift so much.

CREDITS FOR DRUM SONG

Cinematography by Ashley Daniel Foot
Edited by Fletcher Lenz
Produced by Ashley Daniel Foot and Rebecca Hass

Introduction

Hi, my name is Renae and I’m here to share a song with you. I created this song about relationships, relationships to the lands and waters, to our families and communities, and relationship to what our heart needs in the moment.

My little cat, Ginger, knows when I’m sad and she’ll come sit beside me. She’ll let me know everything is okay. Sometimes Ginger will rub her little body against my leg and say, “Hey, I’m hungry!” and I’ll know what she wants.

We’re all about relationships. This song is a celebration and a dedication to listen deeply to those around you, to your classmates, to your teacher, and to all the people that make up your life.

When listening to the song there are moments when the M’Girls (Deanna Gestrin, Sherryl Sewepegahan, Kelsey Wavey, Michelle Bardach, and Renae Morriseau) start to whisper because we want to hear your voice, the song that bubbles up inside you. Maybe it’s just a word, maybe this little song inspires you to come up with your own chant. But what do you love about the relationships you have? Who in your life makes you have happy thoughts, who makes you laugh?

Most of all please have fun when you create your addition to this song, from your heart, from your mind, and from your spirit.

CREDITS FOR RELATIONSHIP SONG

Composer and lead vocalist Renae Morriseau

With the voices of Deanna Gestrin, Sherryl Sewepegahan, Kelsey Wavey, and Michelle Bardach

Cinematography by Ashley Daniel Foot

Renae Morriseau

Renae is Cree and Saulteaux from the Treaty 1 Territory of Manitoba and has worked across Canada and Internationally in film, television and music since the early 80s. She is honoured to have received cultural teachings through social and ceremonial songs and stories with the Secwepemc, Okanagan, Nlaka’pamux, Cree and Anishnaabe peoples. Renae toured internationally with her singing group M’Girl; served as Aboriginal Storyteller at the Vancouver Public Library and directed Down2Earth, an APTN TV Series on green-energy developments and sustainability projects in Maori (New Zealand) and First Nations (Canada) communities. Community building projects include the winter outdoor production Contest of the Winds with Caravan Farm Theatre, the community play Tuwitames with Splatsin Language Program (Secwepemc Nation)/Runaway Moon Theatre, and co-writing In the Heart of a City:The Downtown Eastside Community Play and Storyweaving with Vancouver Moving Theatre.

Performers

Owl: Bruno Roy
Bear: Marcel d'Entremont
Bunny: Keely McPeek
Dukdukdiya: Olivia Kang
Piano: Nathaniel Ben-Horin
Cello: Matt Udry

Directors

Director: Glynis Leyshon
Music Director: Perri Lo

Creative

Composed By: Maxime Goulet
Libretto and Creative Design By: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and Barry Gilson
Production Dramaturgy: Glynis Leyshon

Stage Management

Stage Manager: Elsa Orme

Production:

Thank you to the craftspeople of the Vancouver Opera Shops, Members of IATSE Local 118 & Pacific Opera Shop, Members of IATSE Local 168.

Interviews with the Creative Team

CREATIVE TEAM

2024 ENSEMBLE

Stage Management