Naomi's Road: Vancouver Opera premiere of Joy Kogawa's children's book based on nove Obasan
Click here for the Review of the Oct 1, Saturday Matinee performance.
| Vancouver Opera September 30, October 1 & 2 , 2005 Evening performance 7:30 pm, Matinees 3:00 pm Norman Rothstein Theatre |
Naomi's Road
is a new opera for young audiences. It is composed by Ramona Luengen, with libretto by Ann Hodges. It is based on Joy
Kogawa's novel Naomi's Road
which tells the story of a young girl named Naomi and her brother
Stephen as they meet the challenges created by the internment of
Japanese-Canadians during World War 2.
Check out the Vancouver Opera Naomi's Road press release
I have seen performances of highlights from the Opera both at the Chan
Centre for Roy Miki's June 27th lecture for the Laurier Institution titled, Redress: Dealing with Past Injustices, and also at the Vancouver Arts Awards
last week. Both times, the performances were captivating and
featured singer Jessica Cheung in the role of Naomi.
This is a milestone for Asian Canadian art and literature for a
successful children's story to be turned into an opera, that will be
touring schools throughout BC, as part of the Vancouver Opera in the Schools program.
It is important to share the story about an ugly chapter in Canada's
history – yet teaching children how to move beyond racism and hatred.