An opera written by students about the environment gets a one-night only performance at the Evergreen Brick Works

The delightful sound of young people singing opera will be heard at a one-time show Friday at Evergreen Brick Works, the result of a partnership that aims to amplify the voices of students from underserved communities who normally wouldn’t have exposure to the fine art.

In partnership with the Brick Works, the Canadian Opera Company will present an original youth-led opera entitled “Nature’s Perspective,” a timely story meant to explore themes of environmental stewardship and the relationships between humans, animals and planet Earth.

The performing group of 15 Grade 6 to 9 students are part of the COC’s Opera Makers, a free 16-week program that makes arts education accessible to under-resourced schools and communities. With a hand from professionally trained librettists, composers and artists, students are given the autonomy to create performances that authentically tell the stories of their communities.

“We explore every element of art in opera: from storytelling to composition to set design to choreography and, of course, the performance at the end,” said Makenzie Morgan, the COC’s director of community partnerships and programs. “It’s not us going into their neighbourhoods and telling them this is what an opera is. It’s the community, schools and kids who are the ones creating the story.”

As the largest opera company in the country, the COC has many community initiatives dedicated to promoting diversity while uplifting the art form. This performance marks its first time shining a light on the neurodiverse community, a term that embraces individuals with conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia and autism. Neurodivergent people often experience differences in sensory processing, behaviours, and learning and communication styles.

“It’s so important that we are beginning to embrace diversity and not only diversity in colour. It can be diversity of thought and diversity of skill,” said Morgan.

“In terms of equity … everyone should feel welcome in our spaces and feel that they can be a part of the performance.”

The themes of nature and building a relationship with the community come as a sort of preview of the COC’s production of “The Cunning Little Vixen” a Leoš Janácek opera about a forest gamekeeper and a fox that reflects on the natural cycle of life and death, and will include a relaxed performance when it comes to the mainstage next winter.

“It’s very important that we acknowledge and recognize people from all different backgrounds and we would love to see more kids from the neurodiverse community in the audience,” Morgan said.

Danielle Goldfinger, the senior manager of Brick Works activations, said when the COC reached out about a partnership for “Nature’s Perspective,” she instantly knew the Brick Works would be the perfect venue.

“The Brick Works is a community space and a restored industrial site now teeming with wildlife,” she said by email. “The relationship between the land, people and animals is an ongoing conversation at the Brick Works and we thought there was no better site in this city for this performance.”

The COC partnership “is part of our Community Spotlight Series, a brand new program we launched this year at Brick Works,” Goldfinger said.

“This program has a dual benefit: it animates our 11-acre site, provides visitors with an amazing experience, and provides communities, performers, etc. access to a free space to showcase their art, which is almost unheard of in this city.”

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