SPONSORS:
A Tribute:
Original Artwork by Amelie Chabannes, courtesy of Unladylike2020
St. Andrew’s River Height
s United Church, 255 Oak St. Winnipeg
Unsung Operatic
Black Divas and MLK
General Admission:
$35 | Seniors: $30 | Students: $25
Erin Cheeseborough | Soprano as Elizabeth Taylor Green
fi
eld
Jonelle Sills | Soprano as Matilda Sissie
retta Jones
Robert Herriot | Direct
or
Cary Denby | Collaboratin
g Pianist
Harlequin Costumes | Elizabeth Taylor Green
fi
eld’s attire
Robert Butler | Matilda Sissie
retta Jones attire and all hair
PROLOGUE
Sikhona Gwintsa | Phoebe
Elijah Kanhai | Ian
Don Larsen | Profe
ssor
Joanna Loepp Thie
ssen | Cary
Script:
Spencer Duncanson
Script assist:
Ted Stebbing, Diane Berger, Judith Panson
Unsung
Operatic
Black Divas
and MLK
Little Ope
ra Company | 2025
Unsung Operatic Black Divas and MLK
Sources:
The New York Times; Afrocentric Voices in Classi
cal
Music. Created by Randye Jones. Created/Last modi
fi
ed:
February
15, 2024. Music of Black America
ns, 3rd ED
March 14, 2025, 7:00 P.M.
March 15, 2025, 7:00 P.M.
Ah Mio Cor (Alcina by G.F. Handel)
Sometime
s I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Negro Spiritual arr. M Hogan)
Home Swe
et Home (Clari, the Maid of Milan by Sir Henry Rowley Bishop)
Or sai chi L’onore
(Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart)
Laudat
e Dominium (by W.A. Mozart)
Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante (Carmen
by G. Biz
et)
Scandalize
My Name (African-American Spiritual)
Repertoire for
Ms. Greenfield:
Scandalize
My Name (African-American Spiritual)
Quan
do m’e
n vo (La Bohème by G. Puccini)
The Je
wel Song (Faust by C. Gounod)
Gretche
n am Spinnrade (by F. Schubert)
Old Folks at Home (by
Stephen Foster)
Ave Maria (Bach / Goun
od)
Ride on Kin
g Jesus (Negro Spiritual arr.)
Repertoire for
Ms. Jones
Narrator:
Joy Loewen
Ensemble:
Soprano 1:
Margot Harding*
Soprano 2:
Lillian Mendoza, Claudine Rose Kuffner
Alto 1:
Donnalynn Grills, Zilla Jones
Alto 2:
Sonya Williams, Joanna Loepp Thiessen
Tenor 1:
Jacob Kenny*, Elijah Kanhai
Tenor 2:
Jyoti Jhass, Jackson Lotz*
Bass 1:
Don Larsen, Brent Pfeil
Bass 2:
George Alarape, Ian Hachinski
The Little Ope
ra
Company Ensemble
Little Ope
ra Company | 2025
Unsung Operatic Black Divas and MLK
*soloist
Artists’ Biographies
Jonelle Sills
Erin Cheeseborough
Little Ope
ra Company | 2025
Unsung Operatic Black Divas and MLK
Canadian Soprano Jonelle
Sills (pr.
Ya-Nell) is one of t
he most exciting young
sopranos of her gene
ration. Recently
nominated for a 2025 JUNO Award with
The Canadian Art Son
g Project for
Classical Album of the Year f
or Known to
Dreamers: Black Voices in Canadian Art
Song. Named one of CBC Music’s 30 Hot
classical musicians under 30 in 2022. Jone
lle
recently made
her company debut at the
Canadian Opera Company
as Mimi in La
bohème, a performance t
hat was lauded as
being a “beautif
ully sensitive Mimi with
careful control an
d colour” (The Globe and
Mail). Past highlights include Rosalinde
(Die Fledermaus) and Don
na Anna (Don
Giovanni) with Edmon
ton Opera, Micaëla (Carmen) and Helena (A
Midsummer Night’s Dream) wit
h Vancouver Opera, Anna Glawari (The
Merry Widow) with Toronto Operetta Theatre
and in recital for the Prince
Edward County Chambe
r Festival with the Viano Qu
artet. Her company
debut with Toronto’s Against the Grain Theatre in
Vivier’s Kopernikus
earned her a 2019 Dora Aw
ard as a member of the ensemble.
Lyric soprano, Erin Cheese
borough, is a
native of T
allahassee, Florida. In the
summer of 2024, Erin performed t
he role
of Sister Rose in Jake He
ggie’s Dead
Man Walking for the Miami Classical
Music Festival. Also, in the su
mmer of
2024, Ms. Cheeseborough covered the
role of Lady Billows in Benjamin Britton’s
Albert Herring for t
he Chicago Summer
Opera. In 2022, Erin performed t
he role
of Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen
at the Miami
Classical Music Festival. The Sou
th
Florida Classical Review said of he
r
performance, “One
of the standouts of
Little Ope
ra Company | 2025
Unsung Operatic Black Divas and MLK
Rob Herriot
Canadian stage direct
or Rob Herriot’s
career has taken him to ope
ra companies
and universit
ies across North America.
Herein Winnipeg, he
has directed produc-
tions of Cosí fan
Tutte, La Cenerent
ola,
Madama Butter
fl
y, Lucia di Lammermoor,
La Boheme, Carmen, Rigoletto an
d Don
Pasquale (Manitoba Opera), Barber of
Seville, Don Pasquale (L
ivermore Valley
Opera), Cosí fan tu
tte (Opera Kelowna),
Three Decembers, T
he Magic Flute, At
the Statue
of Venus and A Tall Order (The
Little Ope
ra Company). He is currently a
returning dire
ctor for Opera Nuova,
Canada’s leading young art
ist summer
program. As a teacher and mentor, he
has
directed production
s of Tuck Everlasting, The Fairy Que
en, Tartuffe,
Beatrice and Benedict, Don
Giovanni, Oklahoma, La Boheme and Patience.
Virtual production
s include I Need Opera and Dance
(director) for The
Little Ope
ra Company, writer and director for the 3-episode
series All Those
Arias (writer and direct
or) for The Little Opera Company
and The Manitoba
Opera, as well as write
r and director for the Manitoba Opera’s 6-part se
ries
Opera School. Other product
ions include Wizard of Oz, Cinderella an
d
Beauty and the Be
ast for Winnipeg’s Rainbow Stage.
the even
ing was Erin Cheeseborough as Micaëla. Her Act III aria, “je dis que
rien ne m’épouv
ante” soared with an emotionally
charged rendition, communi-
cating where Micaëla
fi
nds strength after being deeply hurt by Don José.”
In prior summers, while attending the Harrower Summer Ope
ra Workshop,
Ms. Cheeseborough performe
d Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rustican
a,
and Cio-cio san in Puccini’s Madame Butter
fl
y in several opera scenes
performances. Othe
r roles in Ms. Cheeseborough’s repertoire include
The
Mother in Amahl and the
Night Visitors, La tasse chinoise in L'e
nfant et les
sortileges, and Donna An
na in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Erin has also been a
member of the e
nsemble for Opera Tampa’s La bohème, as well as f
or Opera
Orlando in their produ
ctions of La Traviata and Carmen. Ms. Cheese
borough
is a graduate of the
College of Music at Florida State Unive
rsity where she
earned a Bachelor of Arts in
Music.
Little Ope
ra Company | 2025
Unsung Operatic Black Divas and MLK
Joy Loewen
Joy believes in
the transformative power of
stories and is passionate
about supporting
the creators who make t
hem. Over the past
30 years, Joy has held several le
adership
roles in Canada’s audiovisual in
dustry,
promoting greater re
presentation in stories.
She is currently
the Vice President, Growth
& Inclusion at the Can
ada Media Fund
responsible for the
development, design
and delivery of
the CMF’s inclusion and
growth strategie
s.
Before joining the CMF, Joy
was CEO of
the National Scre
en Institute where
she led
the creation of
more than 20 different programs. Joy was also a f
ounding
member of the programming team that launched the Women
’s T
elevision
Network (now W Network) in 1995 and programmed feature
fi
lms for the
Gimli Internation
al Film Festival.
Her innovativ
e and collaborative spirit earned her t
he Queen Elizabeth II’s
Platinum Jubilee
Medal in 2022 in recognition of outst
anding service to her
province; Playback Canada’s Changemaker of t
he Year in 2023, East by
Northwest’s 2024 Global Conne
ctor Award and Women in Film and
Television’s 2024 Special Jury
Award of Distinction.
Cary Denby
Cary is a skilled and versatile
collaborative
pianist with ove
r 40 y
ears of playing
experience in an
d around Winnipeg. She
is honoured to serv
e as the collaborative
pianist for the L
ittle Opera Company
presentation
of Unsung Operatic Black
Divas and MLK. Cary is active
in the
community and has collaborat
ed with such
organizations such as t
he Manitoba Opera,
Canzona Choir, the Winn
ipeg Singers,
Rainbow Stage, the Roy
al Manitoba
Theatre Cen
tre, the WSO, as well as with
choirs at the Unive
rsity of Manitoba,
various soloists, school choirs, churches and
community groups.
CE
NTENNIA
L
CO
N
CE
R
T HALL
APRIL 5, 9, 11
Sung in Italian with projected English tra
nslation
s.
BE SWEPT AWAY INTO
A WORLD OF YOUNG LOVE & ROMANCE
This true-to-life s
tory of struggling young artists living life
to the fullest in Paris will make
you laugh and break your heart.
One of the most
romantic operas ever wr
itten.
Soaring, lyrical, and intensely emotional.
A
T
IME
LESS T
A
LE
OF
LOVE
& LOSS
2024/25 SEASON PRESENTED BY
TICKETS: mbopera.ca ❘ 204-944-8824
SUZANNE
TAFFOT
Mimì
HUGO
LAPORTE
Marcello
ZACHARY
RIOUX
Rodolfo
CHARL
OTTE
SIEGEL
Musetta
CLARENC
E
FRAZER
Schaunard
DAVID
WATSON
Benoît/
Alcindoro
AL
EX
HALLIDAY
Colline
Board of Directors:
Robert Campbel
l, President
Donnalynn Grills, T
reasurer
Odette
Heyn, Director
Lisa Rumpel, Director
Eldene
Spencer, Director
Spencer Duncanson, Artistic Director
Maybelle Pacak, Director
Darrell Marleau, Director
Rob Herriot, Director
Rory Runnells, Director
Don Larsen, Director Emeritus
Diane Berger, Director Emeritus
Peter Klymkiw, Director Emeritus
Acknowledgements
:
Our many Contributors and Funders:
Charlotte Lindsay, the choir, staff and congregation
of St. Andrew's River Heights United Church
Ted Stebbing, Diane Berger, Judith Panson,
Lars Treloar
Nolan Kehler | Classic 107
Kevin Burgin | CJOB
Media Public Relations:
Lead Marketing and Promotional
Photography | Heather Milne
Marketing and Webmaster | Don Larsen
Program / Original Poster Design | Stephen C. Boyd
Technical Support | Steve Denby
