Canadian Opera Company To Mark World Water Day With Release Of 'Noondaadiwag'

On March 22, 2023, World Water Day around the globe, the Canadian Opera Company will debut noondaadiwag, a digital concert recording from Anishinaabe-irish artist Olivia Shortt (they/them) in collaboration with Canadian soprano Alexandra Smither and the Canadian duo Orbit (Aliayta Foon-Dancoes and Isidora Nojkovic).

The vibrant program features new works for voice, strings, and saxophone, emphasizing improvisation, Indigeneity, and the many shapes that the human voice can take.

The featured artists first came together during the pandemic in 2020 and have continued to build and develop their musical relationships in post-digital and online contexts. noondaadiwag was performed using an audio score that sometimes strains what is being heard; the audience is both aware and not aware of the audio track that plays at the same time as the live performance.

"This concert tackles a variety of themes and ideas that I've been thinking about over the last few years, specifically during the pandemic," says Shortt. "The program explores the idea of collaboration and also the relationships I have with other artists, as an artist myself."

One particular concert highlight is bagaskaadagaazii, first commissioned in 2020 by Orbit and later reimagined in 2021; the piece speaks to the ongoing clean water crisis and, specifically, the lack of access to clean drinking water on reserves.

"For me, continuing this conversation is really important," continues Shortt. "Clean drinking water is a basic thing that everyone should be able to access, regardless of where you live in this country."

The concert recording will be available online March 22, 2023 at coc.ca through the Canadian Opera Company's Free Digital Membership.