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The Gazette Homepage
Division of University Relations Homepage
(September 7, 2000, Gazette)
The
Visitor
John Steffler (L) and Dr. Michael Parker
By
Pamela Gill
The search for a place to call home is a concept with which most
Newfoundlanders are familiar. These journeys are often employment
driven, taking Newfoundlanders to hopeful places that might fill
the void of “The Rock” they’ve left behind.
But the Newfoundland heart is a peculiar animal, and has been known to tear families apart in the quest for home.
The story told in The Visitor is no different. The one-act chamber opera was written by Newfoundland composer Michael Parker, with libretto by award-winning writer John Steffler. Both are professors at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College. A world premier, concert performance of The Visitor will be performed at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre on Friday, Sept. 22. It will be performed at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre the following evening.
The opera recounts the legend of Haki and Hekja, two Scottish slaves who were brought to Vinland against their will by the Vikings. They must now decide whether to go back with the Vikings or remain in Vinland and take their chances.
“In the end, the conflicts and emotions that these characters express are common to us all,” said Dr. Parker. “We all wish to find out `home’ in this world, to find the place where we belong. For many of us that place always seems to be somewhere else.”
The opera will be performed by the Newfoundland Symphonia, a troupe of 12 members of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. The cast includes Desmond Byrne, bass, of Montreal, David Malis, baritone, of New York, Sandra Graham, soprano, of Ottawa and Newfoundland’s own Berni Stapleton, who will perform a speaking role. Marc David of Montreal will conduct the performance.
The Visitor, commissioned by Music Canada 2000 Festival Incorporated, is being produced by Peter Gardner of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
The idea for the Viking opera first surfaced five years ago, says Dr. Parker. With the advent of Music Canada 2000 Festival Incorporated’s grants, available to composers and musicians all over the country, the idea became a reality.
Ironically, there are no Vikings in this production. Rather, the Vikings are described through the eyes of those around them: the Scottish slaves, a German craftsman, and, as the opera moves surreally to the present, a doctor and an archaeologist.
“The `hook’, if you will, is the Vikings, but really the opera could be about anyone,” said Dr. Parker, pointing to Newfoundland as an example. “Lots of Newfoundlanders leave and go somewhere else and come home again. Everyone’s looking for that elusive happiness, that home. It’s an opera about where one’s place is.”
This performance will not be the “definitive version”, but rather a “first reading”.
“We’ll have entrances and exits, maybe some costuming, but no set design,” he said, adding he’ll push to have the opera staged in its full capacity in the not-too-distant future.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell College will celebrate the work of these two professors, as well as the college’s 25th anniversary, by sponsoring a reception following the Corner Brook performance.