''Pauline'' is a

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's '' Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergol ...

in two acts composed by Tobin Stokes to a libretto by

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

. Commissioned by

City Opera Vancouver City Opera of Vancouver is a professional chamber opera company in Vancouver, Canada, founded in 2006. Its past productions include the Vancouver premiere of Nigredo Hotel by Ann-Marie MacDonald and Nic Gotham; commission and premiere of 'Missing ...

, the opera is set in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

in March 1913 during the final days in the life of the Canadian writer and performer

Pauline Johnson Emily Pauline Johnson (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913), also known by her Mohawk stage name ''Tekahionwake'' (pronounced ''dageh-eeon-wageh'', ), was a Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centu ...

. It premiered on 23 May 2014 at Vancouver's York Theatre.

Creation and performance history

Poul Ruders's 2000 opera ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...

'' had a libretto by Paul Bentley based on Margaret Atwood's novel ''The Handmaid's Tale''. However, ''Pauline'' marked the Canadian poet, novelist, and literary critic's debut as an opera librettist in her own right. The history of the ''Pauline'' libretto began in 1999 when Atwood wrote it as a commission from the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

for a new opera to be composed by

Randolph Peters Randolph Peters (born 28 December 1959) is a Canadian composer who is known for his output of roughly 100 film scores made mostly for Canadian films. Early life and education Peters was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He graduated from the Univ ...

, but when the composer pulled out, the project was shelved. In 2006 Charles Barber, the Artistic Director of the newly founded chamber opera company City Opera of Vancouver, approached her to write a libretto for a new opera with a signature role for the distinguished

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

n mezzo-soprano

Judith Forst Judith Doris Forst (''née'' Lumb) (born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian mezzo-soprano. Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, she received a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia in 1964. She is the sister-in-law of lon ...

. Atwood suggested using the libretto she had written for the Canadian Opera Company but pared down to make the work suitable for performance as a chamber opera. Christos Hatzis was to be the composer and the opera was due to premiere in 2010 at Vancouver's historic Pantages Theatre.Knelman, Martin (22 March 2008)
"After earlier perils, Atwood's opera Pauline to open"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

''. Retrieved 1 July 2014. As Atwood continued the process of revising the libretto, City Opera of Vancouver was unable to reach an agreement with Hatzis and the premiere was postponed. A new composer, Tobin Stokes, was chosen in 2012. By that time, the Pantages Theatre had been demolished, and Forst's commitments meant that she could no longer take on the title role. Following auditions in March 2013, Rose-Ellen Nichols was chosen to create the role of Pauline.Lederman, Marsha (21 May 2014)
" Rose-Ellen Nichols owns the stage in Margaret Atwood's debut opera"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. Retrieved 1 July 2014. The opera with the preliminary piano/vocal score was workshopped before invited audiences in September, October and November 2013. Both Atwood and Stokes continued revising the work through December of that year with the final orchestration completed by April 2014, shortly before rehearsals began. The opera premiered on 23 May 2014 at the York Theatre in Vancouver, conducted by Charles Barber, directed by

Norman Armour Norman Armour (October 14, 1887– September 27, 1982) was a career United States diplomat whom '' The New York Times'' once called "the perfect diplomat". In his long career spanning both World Wars, he served as Chief of Mission in eight countr ...

, and produced by Nora Kelly and Janet Lea.

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

(23 May 2014)
"Margaret Atwood's opera debut Pauline opens in Vancouver"
On the opening night the performance began nearly two hours late following a power outage in Vancouver's East Side. The audience, which included Margaret Atwood, Mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson, Squamish Elder Sam George, and

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

poet

Janet Marie Rogers Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

, waited outside the 371-seat theatre while emergency generators were brought in.Duke, David Gordon (25 May 2014)
"Review: The perils of Pauline"
''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

''. Retrieved 1 July 2014.Hall, Jason (25 May 2014)
"Margaret Atwood’s ''Pauline'' triumphs in Vancouver despite power outage"
''

Vancouver Observer ''The Vancouver Observer'' is an independent online newspaper. The site was founded in 2006 by journalist Linda Solomon as an online platform for Vancouver bloggers, writers, reporters, photographers and filmmakers. Novelist Ruth Ozeki was invol ...

''. Retrieved 1 July 2014. ''Pauline'' ran for four more sold-out performances, closing on 31 May 2014. At the invitation of the literary festival ''Québec en toutes lettres'', the work was performed in concert version at Le Grand Theatre du Québec on 16 October 2015. It featured the original cast, and a Québec orchestra.Boisvert, Richard (17 October 2015)
"''Pauline'': puissante évocation d'un fabuleux destin"
''

Le Soleil Le Soleil ("The Sun") is the name of several newspapers: * ''Le Soleil'' (Quebec), a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1896 * ''Le Soleil'' (French newspaper), a defunct daily newspaper based in Paris fro ...

''. Retrieved 24 October 2015 .

Roles

Score

The opera requires eight singers taking a total of 14 roles, supported by seven players in the pit. It is scored for cello, viola, violin, keyboard, bassoon, clarinet and bass clarinet (doubled), and flute and alto flute (doubled).Roles, orchestration, and premiere cast sourced fro
''Pauline'' (opening night programme)
pp. 1; 5–9. City Opera of Vancouver. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

References

{{reflist Further reading *Clark, Nick (24 July 2013)
"Margaret Atwood writes her first opera about the tragic life of Canadian heroine Pauline Johnson"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' *Duke, David Gordon (22 May 2014)
"Reinventing the opera with Pauline"
''

'' *Ledingham, Jo (26 May 2014)
"Poetic Pauline pleases"
''

Vancouver Courier The ''Vancouver Courier'' was a Canadian semi-weekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by the Van-Net chain owned by Glacier Media Group. In 2007, it was Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a we ...

'' *Werb, Jessica (7 May 2014)
"Margaret Atwood goes to the opera with Pauline"
''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...

'' 2014 operas English-language operas Chamber operas Operas by Tobin Stokes Operas set in Canada Operas Works by Margaret Atwood