''Missing'' is a 2017

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

with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Marie Clements Marie Clements (born January 10, 1962) is a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. She was the founding artistic director of Urban Ink Productions, and is currently co-artistic director of Red Diva Projects, ...

and music by Brian Current. Co-commissioned by

Pacific Opera Victoria Pacific Opera Victoria is a professional Canadian opera company in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia. It designs, builds, and stages original opera productions at the Royal Theatre (Victoria, British Columbia), Royal Theatre wit ...

and City Opera Vancouver, its topic is

missing and murdered Indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are instances of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States, notably those in the First Nations in Canada and Native American communities, but also amongst other Indigenous peoples s ...

Development

The

for the work was developed by

prior to the selection of the composer. Four different composers were asked to set a portion of this libretto, and their settings were anonymized and sung before a jury to select the work's ultimate composer ( Brian Current). The compositional style is spare, reminiscent of a "chamber music suite". It "eschews familiar operatic conventions such as showy arias, huge choruses and a linear plot". The opera is in English and

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan and Kitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory enco ...

, an indigenous language spoken in the traditional territory along much of the

Highway of Tears The Highway of Tears is a corridor of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Canada, which has been the location of crimes against many women, beginning in 1970 when the highway was completed. The phrase was ...

Performance history

The opera's unofficial premiere in November 2017 was before the "community of the missing" in the

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues, including disproportio ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, one of the opera's two settings. This was followed by a five-night run in each of Vancouver and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

later in the month. The show was directed by renowned Canadian director Peter Hinton. Anchorage Opera presents the American premiere in March 2023.

Synopsis

The opera presents a dual narrative. The primary narrative focuses on Ava, a young white woman who is thrown into a tree during a car crash and sees the body of an indigenous woman known as "Native Girl". This experience makes such an impression on Ava that she adopts many elements of Gitxsan culture, and later sees the murder of Native Girl in her dreams. The secondary narrative focuses on the grief of Native Girl's brother and mother.Another take; Review: ''Missing'', Pacific Opera Victoria, Nov. 19, 2017
(23 November 2017), ''

Opera Canada ''Opera Canada'' is a quarterly music magazine published by Opera Canada Publications. It is the oldest continuously published arts magazine in Canada. It is an independent magazine separate from the Canadian Opera Association. Along with Opera ...

Reception

A review in ''

Vancouver Magazine ''Vancouver Magazine'' is an English-language lifestyle magazine focused on Vancouver, British Columbia and the Lower Mainland. ''Vancouver Magazine'' describes its mission as informing, guiding and entertaining residents of a "dynamic, internati ...

'' states that ''Missing'' "lays the foundation for a bridge between two cultural solitudes that must work together... to give birth to a new Canada".Roberta Staley (1 November 2017)
'Missing' Turns Tragedy Into Art
''

'' According to ''

'', "As an opera, ''Missing'' is under-written. As an important piece of theatre that builds over its short 80 minutes to a shatteringly emotional conclusion... tis something every Canadian should see".

References

{{Portal bar, Opera 2017 operas Chamber operas Operas set in the 21st century English-language operas Multiple-language operas Operas Works about missing people