Pacific Opera Victoria and Vancouver Opera Present THE FLIGHT OF THE HUMMINGBIRD

After a successful preview at Vancouver Opera Festival late last year, the Pacific Opera Victoria and Vancouver Opera co-production of The Flight of the Hummingbird took flight in January 2020 to schools across our province. The tour and sold-out performances at Pacific Opera Victoria's Baumann Centre were stalled due to COVID 19 but today Pacific Opera Victoria announced that a free online broadcast of the opera will be available for families and educators, Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 10am (PDT).

The Flight of the Hummingbird is based on an indigenous parable from the Quechuan people of South America. The story of the brave hummingbird travelled through pre-contact trade routes to become well known within Haida culture. The opera is influenced by the graphic novel written by acclaimed Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and includes elements of his dramatic Haida-manga illustrations. In it, the animals of the forest are inspired to come together by Dukdukdiya, the Hummingbird, to save their beautiful home from a raging fire.

"An environmental fable about moral courage, the story encourages doing what we can for our planet - a fitting call to action for these turbulent times" says Pacific Opera Victoria CEO Ian Rye.

The opera is 45-minutes in length and features four singers and a small ensemble. Sara Adéle Schabas sings the role of Dukdukdiya (Hummingbird), joined by Evan Korbut as Owl, Jan van der Hooft as Bear and Crow 1, and Rebecca Cuddy as Bunny and Crow 2. The opera is directed by Glynis Leyshon with music direction by Kinza Tyrrell.

The video of a live performance of The Flight of the Hummingbird will be shared on both Pacific Opera Victoria and Vancouver Opera websites, IGTV and Facebook profiles, and will be accompanied by a study guide aligned with the First People's Principles of Learning and the BC education curriculum. The video and study guide will remain available On Demand at pacificopera.ca and vancouveropera.ca until late summer.

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