What is FILUMENA?
FILUMENA is a fabulous new opera coming to Ottawa on April 28th and 30th 2005! A production of The Banff Centre, FILUMENA is an all-Canadian, new work performed in English and Italian. It premiered to great acclaim in Calgary in 2003 and was revived for the Banff Summer Arts Festival that same year. “Mimi and Madame Butterfly move over,” proclaimed the Calgary Herald, “there’s a new heroine on the block and her name is Filumena.” FILUMENA is a truly Canadian story, based upon the compelling tale of Filumena Lassandro, a young Italian immigrant to the Crowsnest Pass region of Alberta, who became involved with the bootlegging trade between Alberta and British Columbia in the 1920s. She was the last woman to be hanged in Alberta.
Filled with passion, romance, drama and tragedy, FILUMENA is the perfect story for the grand themes and production values of opera.
Canada's National Arts Centre's Alberta Scene presents FILUMENA, produced by The Banff Centre. Music by John Estacio and Libretto by John Murrell OC, AOE. FILUMENA was co-commissioned and originally co-produced by The Banff Centre and Calgary Opera. Alberta Scene presents FILUMENA in association with Opera Lyra Ottawa, with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and gifts from BC-based Martha Lou Henley Charitable Foundation and from Canada's East Coast, Margaret and David Fountain.
