Margaret Atwood and Jake Heggie's SONGS FOR MURDERED SISTERS Will Embark on World Premiere Tour
Hopkins will join Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, which co-commissioned the work with Houston Grand Opera, for performances across Ontario.
Released during the pandemic as both a film and a Juno-nominated album, the set of eight songs was created in response to one of the worst cases of domestic violence in Canadian history. On the morning of September 22, 2015, in Renfrew County, Ontario, one man went on a killing spree, brutally murdering three ex-partners in their separate homes. One of these women was Nathalie Warmerdam, the sister of Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins.
In his grief, Hopkins resolved to use his voice to wake people up to the global epidemic of gender-based violence - and their part in it. His call to action was answered by two exceptional creators. Jake Heggie, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "the world's most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer," agreed to write the music, and Margaret Atwood, the Booker Prize-winning author of more than 50 books of fiction and poetry, including The Handmaid's Tale, wrote the searing words.
Songs for Murdered Sisters will finally receive its long-awaited orchestral world premiere this February. Hopkins will join Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, which co-commissioned the work with Houston Grand Opera, for performances across Ontario. Under the baton of Alexander Shelley, performances will take place at Southam Hall in Ottawa on February 9 and 10, 2023; at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto on February 11, 2023; and at the Isabel Bader Centre in Kingston on February 14, 2023.
The Kingston performance will be live-streamed for free internationally via the Isabel Digital Concert Hall. The performance will then be available to watch through February 21, 2023.
An excerpt from the Songs for Murdered Sisters film, directed by James Niebuhr "I felt so numb after Nathalie's murder," says Hopkins. "But Margaret's words and Jake's music have created meaning, transforming my grief into a more peaceful and hopeful experience. I'm so grateful to be sharing this emotional pilgrimage with these communities in Ontario, close to where I grew up. I hope audiences are moved to look into their own hearts and recognize that we all have a role to play in ending gender-based violence."
Hopkins hopes that sharing this harrowing story through song will inspire others - particularly men - to own their responsibility to end violence against women. Through a #WhiteRibbonSisters social media campaign, Hopkins aims to motivate 10,000 men to take the White Ribbon Pledge, promising "never to commit, condone, or remain silent about all forms of gender-based violence." Take the pledge at whiteribbonsisters.com.
Tour Dates
OTTAWA
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Friday, February 10, 2023
8pm Eastern
Southam Hall • 1 Elgin Street • Ottawa, Ontario
Tickets $30-$115 • nac-cna.ca
TORONTO
Saturday, February 11, 2023
8pm Eastern
Roy Thomson Hall • 60 Simcoe Street • Toronto, Ontario
Tickets $34-$148 • www.tso.ca
KINGSTON
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
7:30pm Eastern
Isabel Bader Centre • 390 King Street West • Kingston, Ontario
Tickets $10-$64 • www.queensu.ca
LIVE-STREAM
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
7:30pm Eastern
Available for 7 days post-performance
Free • www.queensu.ca
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