The Banff presentation of this opera presents a rare opportunity for some of the best musicians from around the world to perform together. Bramwell Tovey, music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, will lead the Festival Orchestra, comprised of participants from The Banff Centre’s various summer music programs. The opera chorus will also be a highlight, featuring program participants and talented singers from the Banff region, and from elsewhere in Canada, the U.S., and abroad.

The opera, co-commissioned by The Banff Centre and the Calgary Opera, tells the true story of Florence (Filumena) Losandro, an Italian immigrant living in Alberta during Prohibition, who was accused, along with Emilio Picariello, of the 1922 murder of a provincial police constable. She was one of the last women hanged in Canada.

"It will be magical to see Filumena on the Banff stage as we bring this story of love, passion, crime and intrigue – elements so fitting for an opera – to what may be called its creative home," says Murrell, who is also artistic director of Theatre Arts at The Banff Centre. "This unique project has been a labour of love and has had many nurturing parents and godparents along the way. For the first time, the opera will be performed in the mountains which Filumena fell in love with, and which inspired her to find freedom and self-determination."

Three years ago, Murrell met with Estacio, the Calgary Opera’s composer-in-residence, to discuss a possible collaboration, and the project was born. The Banff Centre hosted three musical/dramaturgical workshops during the 15 months leading up to a stunning February 2003 premiere in Calgary. Since then, cast and crew - from musicians to set designers to sound technicians - have been working to fine-tune the Banff remount.

All six principal roles in Filumena will be sung by the original cast, including Laura Whalen, a Fort McMurray native, as Filumena, and Gaetan Laperriere, one of Canada’s most highly regarded baritones, as booze-smuggler, hotel owner, and town councillor Emilio Picariello.

For information about Filumena visit our Web site at http://www.banffcentre.ca/bsaf/series/opera. Tickets are still available, call 1.800.413.8368 or 403.762.6301.

Downloadable images for publication are available.

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