CANADIAN
PREMIERE!
Jonathan Dove’s
TheWalk
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
garden
Jonathan Dove’s
TheWalk
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
garden
P
r
esents
Opera in twe
lv
e
sce
ne
s
in En
glish
Libr
et
t
o by Al
a
sd
ai
r
Middl
et
o
n
Spo
nsors:
Composed by Jonathan Dove
Text by Ala
sdair Middleton
Presente
d under l
icense fr
om
C.F. Peters., co
pyright owners.
Media
Publ
ic Re
lations:
Lead Marketing and Promotional
Photography – Heather Milne
Marketing and Webma
ster – Don Larsen
Program / Original Poster Design – Stephen C. Boyd
March
22,
2024
at
7:30
PM
March
23,
2024
at
7:30
PM
March 24, 2024 at 2:30 PM
A
r
ti
s
tic Director’s Me
ssage
1
It has always been The Little Opera Company's goal to present
operas that not only entertain but also speak to the human
condition. To quote the late Leonard Bernstein, “A work of art
does not answer q
uestions, it provokes them; and its essential
meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.”
As an arts organization, The Little Opera Company attempts to
speak to individual audience members at myriad levels. We
revel in the fact that we entertain a diverse population and enjoy
focusing on those things that are shared concerns. Concerns
that, if nothing else, will cause us to question.
The Wa
lk
from the Ga
rde
n meets these criteria. It is not only a
beautifully crafted work, but it is also extremely relevant to the central concerns of our
time, sustainability, stewardship, and social responsibility.
Direct
or’s Notes
Upon listening to Jonathon Dove’s The Wa
lk
from the Ga
rde
n
for the first time, I was immediately hook
e
d. There was
something about the initial assault of the organ and timpani
and chorus in the first scene, acting as the voice of Go
d
casting ju
dgement on, and banishing Adam and Eve from
Eden. It was like nothing I had ever heard and therefore the
perfect beginning as I could not wait for what was next. As
each scene played out I was introduced to some of the most
exciting vocal writing since Puccini. The intervals were
breathtaking, the v
ocal lines soaring, and the rhythms riveting.
The music seemed to capture the essence of every minute of
the story. An opera in 12 scenes, The Wa
lk
from the Ga
rde
n
uses the Adam and Eve
story as a metaphor to look at the effects of climate change on our planet. They
bemoan what they have lost through carelessness, thinking back to a world where peace
and harmony was rich in their environment and in their souls. Throughout the opera
they go on a journey from being horrified to having a glimmer of hope, wanting to get
back to a time of verdant lushness but facing a world of ash and receding rivers. I truly
believe that great composers do all of the work for a stage director and that is precisely
what Jonathon Dove has done with this piece. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this
production to the memory of Michael Cavanagh, a mentor, a dear friend and a
remarkable man. You are greatly missed my friend.
Rob Herriot
TheWalk from
the garden
Conductor
- Armand Birk
Director
- Rob Herriot
Characters:
Eve - Sar
a Schabas
Adam - Nolan Kehler
Heavenly Chorus - P
rairie Voices Inc.
Production:
Digital Design Tea
m Coordinator - Zohreh Gervai
s
Digital Design - Neon Venus P
roductions
Projection Arti
st - Jason Fung
Costume Construction - Ca
ry Denby
Chorus Maste
r - Philip Lapatha
Stage Manager - Nta
ra Curry
Projected Titles
- Cary and Steve Denby
Instrumental
ists:
Organist - Wes Eli
as
Timpanist - Came
ron Denby
Répétitrice - Cary Denby
Violin 1 - Rachel Kristens
on
Violin 2 - Sarah Ha
rrington
Viola - Sarah Cars
well
Cello - Blair Burns
3
Art
ists’ Biographies
Rob Herriot
Armand Singh Birk
One of two 2023 conducting fellows at the Tanglewood Music
Center, Canadian conductor Armand Singh Birk
is currently a
fellow with the Orchestre Métropolitain Conducting Aca
de
my
mentored by Yannick
Nézet-Séguin. Having started university
as a biology major, he only learned to re
ad music after he found
his love and passion for classical music a
nd conducting in 20
14.
His primary teachers have bee
n Jona
than Girard and Petar
Dundjerski, and in addition, he has had the privilege of
le
arning
from Andris Nels
ons, Stefan Asbury, Dima Slobodeniouk, Xian
Zhang, Dame Jane Glover, James Ross, Jame
s Lowe, and Daniel Raiskin. Recent and
upcoming professional engage
ments include working with the Le
ipzig Gewandhaus
Mendelssohn-Orchester Akademie, the Tanglew
ood Mus
ic Centre Orchestra
,
l’Orchestre
Métropolitain, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the
Saskatoon
Symphony Orchestra, the Spo
kane Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony
Orchestra, and the River City Chamber Orchestra, which he f
ounde
d in 2019.
Canadian stage di
rector Rob Herriot’s caree
r has taken him to
opera companies
and universities a
cross North America. Her
e
in Winnipeg, he has directed productions of
Cosí fan Tutte, La
Cenerentola, Madama Butter
fl
y, Lucia di Lammermoor,
La
Boheme, Carmen, Rigoletto
and
Don Pasquale
(Manitoba
Opera),
Barber of Seville, Don Pasquale
(Livermore Valley
Opera),
Cosí fan Tutte
(Opera Kelowna),
Three Decembers,
The Magic Flute, At
the Statue of Venus
and
A Tall Or
d
er
(The Little Opera Compa
ny). He is
currently a returning
director for Ope
ra Nuova, Canada’s leading young artist summe
r program. As a
teacher and mentor, he has directed productions of
Tuck
Everlasting, The Fairy Queen,
Tartuffe, Beatrice and Benedict, Don
Giovanni, Oklaho
ma, La Boheme
and
Patience
.
Virtual productions include I Need Opera and Dance (di
rector) for The Little Opera
Company, writer and dire
ctor for the 3-episode seri
es All Those Arias (wri
ter and
director) for T
he Little Opera Company and The Manitoba Oper
a, as well as writer
and director for
the Manitoba Opera’s 6-part se
ries Opera School. Other productions
include Wizard of Oz, Cinde
rella and Beauty and the Beast for Winnipeg’s
Rainbow Stage.
Sara Schabas
Nol
an Kehler
Treaty One-based te
nor Nolan Kehler is a performe
r dedicated
to collaboration and reconciliation. He
recently made mainstage
debuts in his home
city of Winnipeg with Manitoba Opera as
La Roche in
Li Keur: Riel’s Heart North
, the
fi
rst full-scale
Indigenous-led opera production presented on a Ca
nadian
mainstage, and with
the Manitoba Chamber Orche
stra as
Oronte in
Alcina
. Nolan also recently made his American
debuts with Ameri
can Bach Soloists in San Fra
ncisco and
Emmanuel Music in Boston. In 2024, Nolan will be making h
is
debut in
Carmina Burana
with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and as the tenor soloist in
Bach’s
Coffee Cantata
with the Winnipeg Baroque Festival. Nolan has also had the
pleasure of wor
king with Juno-nominated Cree composer Andre
w Balfour on his
compositions Captive
and Nôtinikêw in performance
s with Winnipeg’s Dead of
Winter
at the Montreal New Music Festival, the Brandon University Chorale
, a
nd w
ith
Edmonton’s Chronos Vocal Ensemble. Whe
n he is not performing, Nolan serv
es as
Provincial Coordinator for the Manitoba cha
pte
r of Opera InReach, which ai
ms to
provide accessible ope
ra education to schools from a w
ide variety of perspectiv
es and
backgrounds. Nolan can also be heard over the airwaves on CBC Ra
di
o One on the
weekends acr
oss Canada introducing curated classi
cal music selections.
Praised for her “beauti
fully clear, light lyric soprano” (Ludwig
Van), Toronto-born soprano Sara
Schabas has perfor
med
leading roles with companies including Paci
fi
c Opera Victoria,
Vancouver Opera, Tape
stry Opera, the Dayton Opera, and the
Aspen Opera The
atre. She is the 20
24 winner of the Wir
th
Vocal Prize, a re
cent prize winner wi
th the Eckhardt-Gramatté
Competition, the Hnatyshyn Foundation and th
e Metropolitan
Opera Laffont Competition and in 2020 was nominate
d f
or a
Dora Award for
Outstanding Performance by an Individual for
her performance as Anne Frank
in Cecilia Livingston’s
Singing Only Softly
. Sara has
performed with Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists
, Vie
nna’s Concentus
Musicus, at Zurich Opera’s Spiegelsaal, and with the late
Maestro Lorin Maaze
l in
Mahler’s Fourth Symph
ony. Th
is season, she debuts wi
th Kitchener-Waterloo’s Grand
Philharmonic Choir, The Little Opera Company of Winnipeg a
nd th
e Orchestre
Classique de Montréal. Based in Montreal, Sara is a curr
ent doctoral student at McGill
University, yoga teacher, and the editor of Art Song Cana
da
’s online magazine.
www.sa
r
asch
abas.com
4
5
PRAIRIE VOICES INC
Cary Denby
Cary Denby is very happy to be back
with The Little Opera
Company playing for the rehea
rsals for the upcoming
production of
The
W
al
k
from the
G
ar
d
en
. Cary is a collaborative
pianist who has been fortunate to work
with such notable
organizations such as Canzona, the Winnipe
g S
ingers, Rainbow
Stage, MTC, the WSO, the U
niversity of Manitoba, as w
ell
as many singers, i
nstrumentalists, schools, churche
s, and
community groups.
Philip Lapatha
Director of P
rairie Voices wa
s born and raised in Winnipeg’s
West End,
Philip Lapatha
has been shaped by inspiring
teachers, long-lasting fr
iendships, and loving family ties.
Philip teaches choir with Dorothy Dyck
at Maples Collegiate, a
large high school in nor
thwest Winnipeg with six choral groups
in a vibrant per
forming arts program. Philip has
had the pleasure
of directing sev
eral of Manitoba’s community choral groups,
including Ecco Singers, SonoLux Choi
r, the Provincial Honour
Choir, and the regional youth choirs (Eastern Manitoba
, Ce
ntral Manitoba, and
Western Manitoba).
With current Ar
tistic Director, Philip Lapath
a, and
Collaborative Pia
nist, Kimberly Lapatha, was founded in
2000 by Dr. Elroy Friesen, and continued unde
r the
baton of Kristel Pete
rs, Nathan Poole, Vic Pankratz,
and GiUng Lee. Prairie Voices, an award-winni
ng ch
oir
composed of singers betw
een the ages of 18–25, ha
s
their own concert series, is a r
egula
r guest of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestr
a, and
has recorded 6 CDs (i
ncluding one as guest choir with the
Winnipeg Symphony
Orchestra). While placing an emphasis on performing the
music of Canadian and
Manitoban composers, Prairie Voices also loves to pe
rform innovative conte
mpor
ary
choral music from all over the world
. The choir uses energy, expressiveness and move-
ment to connect avant-garde compos
ition with a popular audience. Pra
irie Voices is
known for their passionate style of performance, which combines exceptional v
ocals with
engaging presentation to prov
ide the ultimate choral experi
ence. Prairie Voices
has
performed around the world, bringing th
eir unique touch to a divers
e repertoire.
Working with choral legends such as R. Murray Schafer, Stephen Hat
fi
eld and v
ocal
superstars Ra
jaton, Prairie Voices h
as managed to grow as an organiz
ation while still
remaining true
to their Canadian roots.
6
Ntara Curry
Jason Fung
Jason Fung is a multidisciplinary a
rtist, jazz pianist, and
technology enthusiast f
rom Canada. Recently, one of my
pieces, The S
trong Unstaggering Breeze, was f
eatured in
/’fu:bar/[2] (Zagreb, Croatia). /’fu:bar/ is
an annual program
focused on “electronic exper
iments and research
in
contemporary error
-themed digital art and theory
.” Another
of his piece
s, The Body Electric, was included in the 2022
Contemporary Venice Exhibit (Venice, I
taly). Additionally, he
has a background as a technology lawyer and has presented on
subjects ranging from arti
fi
cial intelligence’s potential impacts on public policy (i.e. to the
World Bank) to Web3’s potential implications on interne
t regulation. He is currently the
General Counsel for MacEwan Universi
ty. In his
pr
ocess, he utilizes audiov
isual software
such as TouchDesigner, visual processing software such as Studio Artist, and arti
fi
cial
intelligence generati
ve visuals such as
ArtBreeder. If there is an audio component, he
uses software such as Logic Pro, Pe
ndulum Gener
ate, etc. His Instagram account
@granularadventures includes samples of his work, w
hich features r
egula
r audio
and visual work.
Ntara Curry is a theatre artis
t investigating Directing for
Ope
ra
because it compliments and i
nvigorates her profe
ssional
practice. Stage Management has taken Ntara a
ll ove
r the
Prairies (Concrete Theatre
, Ma
nitoba Theatre for Young
People, Prairie Theatre Exchange, S
hakespeare in the
Rui
ns),
and led to her current posi
tion as Production Manager for
sick + twisted Producti
ons (Tiresias, June 2024). Ntara
was
assistant director on
The Corsair
(Manitoba Underground
Opera). She is being mentored by P
hilip Akin as part of Royal
Manitoba Theatre Centre 2024 Mentors
hip program. Ntara is a curre
nt boa
rd member
of
Young
Lungs
Dance
Exchange.
She
also
a
collaborator
on
the
upcoming
production
of Jordan Tannahill’s Is My Microph
one On? (Winnipeg Fringe, 2024)
7
Our deepe
s
t g
r
at
itude to:
Our many contributors and funders, Karen Corbett and the staff of Harrow United Church,
Rev. Paul N. Johnson, Andrew Thomson, Helen Suh and Wallace Demarais, Edward S
tebbing,
St
. John’s Anglican Cathedral Choir, Margot Sim and Grace Bible Church Choir, Cary and Steve
Denby, Diane Berger, Judith Panson, Alexis Silver and Sisler High School, Carolyn Boyes and
The Winnipeg Boys’ Choir.
Board of Directors:
Robert Campbell, President
Spencer Duncanson,
Artistic Director
Donnalynn Grills, Treasurer
Muriel Smith, Secretary
Odette Heyn, Director
Rob Herriot, Director
Lisa Rumpel, Director
Rory Runnell
s, Director
Eldene Spencer, Director
Diane Berger, Director Emeritus
Don Larsen, Director Emeritus
Peter Klymkiw,
Director Emeritus
Neon Venus
Productions
Neon Venus Productions is a new immersiv
e media collective
led by Winnipeg-based Immersive Ev
ent Producer Zohreh
Gervais, alongside te
am members Architect Joe Kalturnyk,
Projection and Lighting De
signers jaymez and Jason Fung, and
Art Director Rica
rdo Soriano. Together with
our award-winning
collaborators, we are creating multi-sensory, univers
ally
accessible journeys
that resonate with
audiences around the globe. Our mission is to
provide enterta
inment experiences tha
t transcend cultural boundaries and tap into
universal human emotions. We do this by merging technology, architecture
, mus
ic and
art to develop safe
spaces for exploring the breadth of
human emotions. We help
audiences form bonds of shared wonder and community through car
efully cr
afted visual
and auditory stimulation informed by the latest research
in psychology and neur
oscience.
We salute a star w
ho fell far too soon,
Michael Cava
naugh, Artist, Director and Friend to many,
you will be missed!
2023 - 2024 Seas
on Contributo
r
s
Season Supporters
Winnipeg Arts Council
The Gail Asper Family Foundation, Inc
The Winnipeg Foundation
Corporate Donors
David Kraemer
Financial Services
Lazer Gra
nt LLP
Patrons ($1,000 +)
Rob Dalgliesh and Daniel Friedman
Judith Panson
Dr. William Pope,
Dr. Elizabeth
Tippett Pope
Developer ($500 - $999)
Blair and Cori Burns
Robert Campbell
Spencer Duncanson
James Graham
Robert MacDonald
(at time of pu
b
l
ishing)
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Anonymous donations made
through Canada Helps
Supporter ($150
- $499)
Diane Berger
Gerald Brown
James Chapryk
Thomas and Mich
eline Hay
Odette Heyn
Julie Husband and Anthony Cyre
Don and Cindy Larsen
Sandi Mielitz
Heather Mi
lne
Lisa Rumpel
Annemarie Wi
ebe
Dr. Kathryn and Dr. Robert Young
Friend ($50 - $149)
Catherine Bur
ns-Flett
Roger Dutton
Lynne Fairhall
Kadri Irwin
Rocky and Cheryl Kreis
Terumi
Kuwada
Leona MacDonald and Douglas Riske
Rory Runnells
Margot Sim and Ken Hieber
t
Muriel
Smith
George E and Nicole Spencer
Karin Woods
Debra Zoerb
9
About:
The Walk from the Garden
by Judith Panson
The Little Opera Company is a not-for-pro
fi
t charitable organization, whose mission is
the promotion of opera
and the promotion of the talented arti
sts that contribute to the
production of opera in Winnipeg and Ma
nitoba. We have been producing operas,
showcasing the signi
fi
cant talents of local singers and musicians since 1995. Our purpose
is as much about developing artists as it is about s
taging ope
ratic works: developing
emerging v
ocalists and instrumentalists, providing coaching and practical experience
within the
context of its productions, providing opportunities for
artists and artisa
ns to
advance their skills in the design of costumes
, s
ets and lighting, and developing
production personnel, by providing opportunities to ass
ist in productions. The LOC
offers a unique opportunity to experience chamber opera
in English; opera that engages
individuals of diverse backgrounds. We are committed to selecti
ng r
epertoire that not
only provides accessible entertainment for individuals
who are new to the genr
e, but
that which is engaging and refreshing f
or seasoned opera lovers
. We
also wish to offer
educational forays i
nto realms of opera not frequently explored with
in our community
.
www.littleopera.ca
www.littleope
r
a.ca
The Board of The Little
Opera Company would
like to
extend its appreciation for the
ongoing
fi
nancial support of
Production Sponsor for: