Programme / Information sheet

A Canadian Opera about love and war
An invitation to remember our past
Pacific Opera Victoria is staging a version of the new
Canadian opera Mary's Wedding in high schools in the
Capital Regional District during the first two weeks of
November, 2015, as part of commemorations of the
100th anniversary of the First World War and of this time
of Remembrance.
Music by Andrew P. MacDonald
Libretto by Stephen Massicotte
based on his award winning play Mary’s Wedding
Synopsis of the Opera
The setting is Saskatchewan, two years after the end of World War I.
On the night before her wedding, Mary Chalmers dreams of her first
love, Charlie Edwards. She dreams of their first meeting as they take
shelter from a prairie thunderstorm and Charlie gives her a ride home
on his horse. Their shy love grows, even as Mary's English mother
disapproves of the "dirty farm boy" as a match for her daughter.
When war is declared, Charlie joins C Squadron of Lord Strathcona's
Horse Regiment and sails for England. In his letters, he tells Mary of
meeting the King of England, of volunteering to go over to France after
the Second Battle of Ypres, in which the Germans first used chlorine gas
as a weapon.
He tells of his sympathetic Sergeant, Gordon Muriel Flowerdew
(Flowers) and recounts his life as a soldier – the trenches, the lice, the
mud, the thunder of artillery, and the terrible battle of Moreuil Wood in
which Flowerdew, now a Lieutenant, leads his squadron against the
German machine guns.
The fictional lives of the young lovers in the opera are intertwined
with historical events and with the real-life character of Lieutenant
Gordon Flowerdew, an Englishman who had emigrated to Canada and
settled in Walhachin, BC. Flowerdew returned to Europe to serve in the
Great War with Lord Strathcona's Horse.
In the 1918 battle of Moreuil Wood, Flowerdew carried out one of the
last great cavalry assaults in history, leading a squadron of Lord
Strathcona's Horse, armed with sabres, against German rifles and
machine guns. The Canadians helped to stop the German offensive,
but at enormous cost. Flowerdew himself died from his wounds and
was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military
award for valour.
Complementing the school performances is a touring
World War I Exhibit, on loan from the University of
Victoria Libraries.
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Mary Chalmers ........................Caitlin Wood
Charlie Edwards ........................Kaden Forsberg
Gordon Muriel Flowerdew .........Jeremy Bowes
Chorus
Margaret Lingas, Taylor Winfrey
Cedric Spry, Nathan McDonald
Conductor
........................Giuseppe Pietraroia
Director
........................Glynis Leyshon
Set Designer:
........................Jeremy Gordaneer
Costume Designer ......................Ian Rye
Lighting Designer........................Ereca Hassell
Stage Manager: ........................Christopher Sibbald
Pianist:
........................Csinszka Rédai
Artist in Residence: ....................Heather Jarvie
The performance is approximately 1 hour
. A new Canadian opera set in Western Canada in the aftermath of World War I, Mary's Wedding was commissioned by Pacific Opera Victoria and had
its world première in November 2011. Below are photos from the world première production, with Betty Waynne Allison as Mary, Thomas Macleay as
Charlie, and Alain Coulombe as Flowerdew. David Cooper Photography.
30 AND
YOUNGER
This project has been made possible
in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie
grâce au gouvernement du Canada.
PUBLIC FUNDING
YOUTH, EDUCATION, & ARTIST TRAINING
NRS Foundation through Victoria Foundation, ALACS Foundation
Koerner Foundation, Moss Rock Park Foundation
McLean Foundation, Quail Rock Foundation, Stewart Fund
Mary's Wedding Memory Project
An online forum for sharing stories about World War I
and its impact on family and community. Students,
teachers, and the community are invited to explore
connections with history, and to share stories,
comments, and images.
www.pov.bc.ca/maryswedding.html
Online resources
For more information, including resources on the
opera and its historic background, as well as an
extensive selection of materials and videos on World
War I, visit
www.pov.bc.ca/marys.wedding.html
Special Public Performance
November 10, 2015, 7 pm
Victoria High School Theatre, 1260 Grant Street
The evening includes a special public performance of
Mary’s Wedding, followed by a discussion with Barry
Gough, author of From Classroom to Battlefield:
Victoria High School and the First World War. Canada's
oldest high school west of Winnipeg, Victoria High
School has 500 names of teachers and graduates in its
Great War Roll of Honour.
Tickets available from Pacific Opera Victoria:
www.pov.bc.ca or 250-385-0222.
Remembrance Day
Commemorations at the Royal BC Museum
On November 11, Pacific Opera Victoria presents
scenes from Mary's Wedding as part of the Royal BC
Museum's Remembrance Commemorations, which
will explore stories of the Great War through the
emotive power of the written word in music and song.
The Mary's Wedding performances will start at 1 pm.
Clifford Carl Hall, Royal BC Museum. Free.
POV Student Dress Rehearsal Program
Students have the opportunity to attend the dress
rehearsals for Pacific Opera Victoria’s productions at
the Royal Theatre. Tickets are ordered through
schools. Senior High School and University students
may purchase tickets on their own.
Details: www.pov.bc.ca/schools.html
February 9, 2016, 7 pm
The Barber of Seville
A Midsummer Night’s Dream April 12, 2016, 7 pm
250.385.0222 [email protected]
Embarkation from Victoria 1916
The Empress Hotel can be seen in the background as young soldiers
depart from Victoria Harbour to fight in the Great War.
From University of Victoria Archives and Special Collections. Photo: Archie Wills
LES NOCES
DE MARIE
Musique d’Andrew P. MacDonald
Livret de Stephen Massicotte
Un opéra canadien sur l'amour et la guerre
Une invitation à se rappeler notre passé
Au cours de la commémoration du centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale,
Pacific Opera Victoria met en scène une version du nouvel opéra canadien,
Mary's Wedding (Les noces de Marie).
L'opéra sera présenté en anglais par sept jeunes chanteurs d'opéra, qui visitera
des écoles secondaires du District régional de la capital pendant les deux
premières semaines de Novembre, 2015.
L'opéra explore l'expérience de la jeunesse dans un temps de guerre et rappelle
des moments emblématiques du Canada dans la Première Guerre mondiale, y
compris les batailles d'Ypres et du bois de Moreuil. La pièce introduit également
le personnage historique du lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew, qui a vécu dans
Walhachin, BC, avant de se porter volontaire pour la guerrre.
Plus de ressources
On peut accéder aux renseignements sur l'opéra, son contexte historique, et la
Première Guerre mondiale à www.pov.bc.ca/maryswedding.html.
On peut aussi participer au forum sur ce site – le Projet Mémoire des noces de
Marie – un forum en ligne pour partager des histoires de la guerre et de ses effets
sur la famille et sur la communauté.
Une représentation publique de l'opéra aura lieu le 10 Novembre, à 7 h, à
l'École secondaire Victoria, 1260, rue Grant.
Le spectacle sera suivi d'une presentation par Barry Gough, auteur de From
Classroom to Battlefield: Victoria High School and the First World War. L'École
secondaire Victoria, la plus ancienne école secondaire à l'ouest de Winnipeg,
compte plus de 500 anciens élèves et enseignants à son tableau d'honneur de la
Grande Guerre.
Les billets sont disponibles à Pacific Opera Victoria: en ligne (www.pov.bc.ca)
ou par téléphone (250-385-0222).
Pacific Opera Victoria, 925 Balmoral Road, Victoria, BC V8T 1A7
Administration: 250-382-1641
Box office: 250-385-0222
www.pov.bc.ca