CREATIVE TEAM
Libretto/Story by Spy Dénommé-Welch
Music by Spy Dénommé-Welch & Catherine Magowan
Co-Director Spy Dénommé-Welch
Co-Director Moynan King
Music Director Catherine Magowan
Assistant Music Director / Lute Ben Stein
Producer for Unsettled Scores Ulla Laidlaw
Production Manager Aden Calvin
Technical Director David Fisher
Stage Manager Meghan Speakman
Assistant Stage Manager Angela Mae Bago
Choreographer Montana Summers
Lighting Designer Siobhan Sleath
Set Designer Lindy Kinoshameg
Costume Designer Sherri Hay
Wardrobe Assistant Aurora Judge
Hair & Makeup Artist Deandra Wells
CAST
Tree Spirit Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuk
Constance Kristine Dandavino
Debaajimod Michelle Lafferty
Gladys Nicole Joy-Fraser
MUSICIANS
Recorders Alison Melville
Violin Kathleen Kajioka
Cello Margaret Jordan-Gay
Harpsicord Paul Jenkins
PRODUCTION KNOWLEDGE HOLDERS
Dr. Catherine Longboat & Morris Lessard
PRODUCTION SUPPORT DOG
Maeve
Canoe is a captivating tale of two sisters from Northern Ontario, their ancestral tree, and an old, but familiar, visitor from the past. Through a minimalist aesthetic, this poignant work breaks free from Eurocentric operatic structures, creating an accessible and safe space for diverse audiences to experience the transformative power of Indigenous storytelling and opera.
In the summer of 2018 Native Earth Performing Arts granted Unsettled Scores the opportunity to experiment through the month-long Mskomini Giizis Residency. The creative team explored ways of incorporating new and old technologies to support the story’s overall arc. Canoe delivers an important message about human-to-human relationships, our relationships with the environment, ancestors and the spirit world.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Language (swearing), mention of self harm, and Mentions of Residential Schools and death and harm in relation to Residential Schools.
2024 Dora Mavor Moore Award Nomination (Opera)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble –The Ensemble of: Michelle Lafferty, Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuk, Nicole Joy-Fraser, Kristine Dandavino, Kathleen Kajioka, Margaret Jordan-Gay, Paul Jenkins, Alison Melville, Ben Stein