THE MISS CHIEF CYCLE Comes to Bourgie Hall
The performance is on September 30, 2025.
On the occasion of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2025, Bourgie Hall will host the world premiere of an exclusive sneak peek into Kent Monkman's new opera, currently in development, The Miss Chief Cycle. This evening will be a highlight of Montreal's cultural season, offering a unique encounter with the singular universe of this internationally renowned artist.
Co-produced by Kent Monkman Studio and Bourgie Hall, in collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, The Miss Chief Cycle unfolds as a lyrical counterpart to the major exhibition Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors, presented at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from September 27, 2025 to March 1, 2026. Three scenes from the upcoming operatic work will be performed on stage, bringing to life the tensions between Cree worldviews and Eurocentric colonial perspectives. These confrontations are reimagined through Monkman's flamboyant alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a figure both glamorous and irreverent, who disrupts dominant narratives while opening a space for reflection.
On stage, two of Canada's leading opera artists will perform the principal roles: Marion Newman, a Kwagiulth and Stó:lō mezzo-soprano, and Caitlin Wood, soprano, joined by Quebec singer Laurent Bergeron. The libretto, written by Gisèle Gordon, Monkman's longtime collaborator, is adapted from The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island. The original score is composed by Dustin Peters and performed by musicians from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, enhanced with an electronic soundscape.
After the performance, Kent Monkman and his collaborators will offer remarks about the opera's development, inviting the audience to understand the work as a blend of Indigenous memory, political satire, and a reimagining of dominant historical narratives.
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