Vancouver – written October 1, 2024 – Ten days from now, you will have an opportunity to see Floating Island, which explores themes of gender, beauty, and feminist history through music, electroacoustic soundscape, and movement. The work will feature a team of non-binary and women artists, reflecting on the forgotten histories and hidden narratives that sit at the intersection of collective memory and imagination. Anchored by an original setting of the poetry of Dorothy Wordsworth, the piece will feature live and pre-recorded vocals, and recordings of the natural soundscape in Wordsworth’s hometown.
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings
When: Thursday October 10, at 7:00pm
Where: ANNEX – 823 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC
Opera Unbound is excited to present this multi-medium program, which unites music and dance to consider the connections between self and nature, tenderness and strength. At the centre of the evening is Floating Island, a new commission composed by Kara Gibbs with choreography by Emma Hall and Rhiannon Beausoleil-Morrison.
A new work for music and movement
Composed by Kara Gibbs, Floating Island explores themes of gender, pastoral beauty, and feminist history through music, electroacoustic soundscape, and movement. The text by English writer Dorothy Wordsworth is from an1829 poem of the same name that explores the cyclical nature of life by depicting a lush island that houses plant and insect life until one day disappearing beneath the “glittering lake.” The piece features live and pre-recorded vocals, and recordings of the natural soundscape in Wordsworth’s hometown.
Floating Island was commissioned by Opera Unbound in 2023 with support from the SOCAN Foundation. Initial musical workshops took place in spring of 2024 with a preliminary performance hosted at the Ballet BC studios this past May. Since then, the piece has blossomed thanks to a residency with Belle Spirale’s Dance Deck Onze in July-August 2024.
Event page: www.operaunbound.com/floating-island
Direct ticket link: www.showpass.com/floating-island/
Creative team
Perhaps the most special thing about Floating Island is the team bringing it to life. By October 10, the
piece will have incorporated the voices of ten women and non-binary artists – from poetry by Dorothy
Wordsworth and musical quotations of Fanny Mendelssohn, to original composition, choreography, and
performance.
Rhiannon Beausoleil-Morrison and Emma Hall (Floating Island choreographers) are recent graduates of Arts Umbrella, who are both pursuing opportunities in Europe for the 2024/25 dance season.
Elle Derkitt (dance) is an Arts Umbrella graduate and a founding member of the dance collective Paper Rabbits. Denae Harpham (dance) is a 2024 Ballet BC Annex dancer also training with Modus Operandi. Both dancers will perform Floating Island as well as some of their own creations.
Kara Gibbs (Floating Island composer) is a Vancouver-based composer and sound artist who incorporates both acoustic and electroacoustic sounds worlds in her music.
Perri Lo (piano) is prolific in Vancouver’s dance community, in addition to being a respected
repetiteur and board member with Opera Unbound.
As an artist in residence with Nebula Performances and a frequent collaborator with Re:Naissance Opera, Filipino-Canadian mezzo-soprano Alyssa Nicole Samson is passionate about creating and performing new music. The other half of this program’s vocal duo, Taryn Plater is a mezzo-soprano working in opera and jazz, co-founder of Opera Unbound, and a 2024 DEAP emerging artist with Manitoba Opera.
Celebrating BC’s composers
In addition to showcasing Opera Unbound’s new commission, this concert features a rich array of music by mostly BC-based composers in a celebration of women’s voices. Many will recognize local composers Dorothy Chang and Katerina Gimon, and may also find new favourites among compositions by Roan Shankaruk and Danika Lorèn.
Floating Island was commissioned by Opera Unbound with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the SOCAN Foundation.
This performance is sponsored by the Canadian Music Centre BC.
About Opera Unbound
Opera Unbound aims to present opera at its unrestricted best. With a spirit of openness and adventure,
we create unique artistic experiences that push the bounds of classical vocal music and explore new
relationships between mediums, genres, and communities. We seek to create unique artistic experiences
grounded in collaboration, with a focus on empowering early-career artists.
Learn more about our work at www.operaunbound.com.
The Annex is a Cabaret-style theatre on 2 levels offering cutting-edge dance & musical performances.
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