Federal Election 2011
There is now less than a week to go until the federal election on Monday, May 2, and Opera.ca has rounded up for you the platforms of all five major political parties.
If you have not already done so, visit the Canadian Arts Coalition for their full election toolkit which includes facts, statistics on the arts, questions for candidate, and many quick and easy things you can do right now to keep arts on the agenda throughout the campaign.
Some of these include:
- Using the #artsvotecan hashtag if you are tweeting or retweeting any federal election issue.
- Placing the Arts Vote Avatar on your social media page or use it in place of your photograph on Facebook.
- Join the Canadian Arts Coalition face book page: facebook.com/artscoalition
- And of course, don’t forget to vote yourself, and to make time for everyone in your organization to vote. Information on where to vote, what you need to bring and who your local candidates are can be found at the Elections Canada website.
Party Platforms
Bloc Quebecois
(From page 13) The BQ states that they are committed to “ensuring that the federal government increases its support for our culture and contributes to its development. Let’s Talk Culture”
Conservative Party of Canada
Key mentions of arts and culture investment are found on page 43 and 65 and include announcements also found in their March 2011 budget, including the Children’s Arts Tax Credit, funding renewals for periodicals, and support for The Royal Conservatory of Music.
Green Party Platform – Vision Green
(from page 94) Highlight include continued and increased support for those cultural institutions that are within the Canadian Heritage portfolio including the Canada Council for the Arts, They will also reverse the funding cuts for the exchange of artists and the performance of Canadian arts abroad.
Liberal Platform - Your Future. Your Family. Your Canada.
The Liberal platform highlights increased investments in the arts sector by doubling the annual budget of the Canada Council for the Arts, from $180 million to $360 million over the next four years as well as restoring the Promart and TradeRoutes cultural promotion programs.
New Democratic Party of Canada
Highlights from page 15 include increased funding for the Canada Council for the Arts and the intent to “explore the creation of a new international arts touring fund to replace the now-defunct TradeRoutes and PromArt programs”
Focus on Canadian Opera Creation
Chants Libres’ L'eau qui danse, la pomme qui chante et l'oiseau qui dit la vérité by Gilles Tremblay and Pierre Morency will be among the operas featured in OPERA America’s New Works Sampler at the Opera Conference 2011 in Boston this May.
Chants Libres will present ARIAS this May 14 in Montreal which will bring together excerpts from the 13 new operas created and produced by the company over the past 20 years. ARIAS will feature 21 singers performing the works of composers Alain Thibault, Claude Ballif, Bruce Mather, Giacinto Scelsi, Serge Provost, Jean Piché, Zack Settel, José Evangelista, Louis Dufort, John Oliver and Gilles Tremblay.
Both L'eau qui danse, la pomme qui chante et l'oiseau qui dit la vérité and ARIAS received funding from the Canadian Opera Creation Fund.
Tapestry New Opera’s season will close with a New Opera Showcase this June. The showcase will highlight new works in development, including excerpts from Waterfall
by Maja Ardal and Norbert Palej, M’Dea Undone by Marjorie Chan and John Harris, Scenes from an Old Glasgow Pub by David Brock and Gareth Williams, and Ruth by Michael Lewis MacLennan and Jeffrey Ryan.
Member News
The first Festival Opéra de Québec takes place from July 25-August 6 in Quebec City and will feature Stravinsky’s The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, staged by Robert Lepage and presented in Québec for the first time, Peter Brook’s arrangement of Mozart’s Magic Flute and An Evening at the Agora, with soprano Marie-Josée Lord and tenor Marc Hervieux and much more.
Congratulations to Opera Atelier who raised a record-setting (and goal-doubling) $150,000 at their Versailles Gala.
Vancouver Opera has announced that it will be moving homes to the Vancouver Opera Centre which will combine its artistic and administrative activities under one roof.
Manitoba Opera has announced its 11/12 season which will include the company’s first presentation of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in a co-production with Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Calgary Opera’s 11/12 season has also been announced and will include Canadian premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Sheer’s Moby Dick which was co-commissioned and co-produced by Calgary Opera, Dallas Opera, San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera and The State Opera of Australia.
Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20’s 2011 Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques auditions took place earlier this month in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. A total of 134 singers will participate in the program. 6 singers will also travel to Europe to audition in houses across the continent.