Keyword: Li Keur

CMU faculty, students, alumnus thrilled to participate in Indigenous opera premiere

Thursday, December 21, 2023 @ 2:51 PM

Li Keur: Riel's Heart of the North premiered last month in a rush of vibrant colour, rich story, and lively music and dance. The production, performed by Manitoba Opera, sold out each of its three performances at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg on November 18, 22, and 24.

Li Keur is the first full-scale Indigenous-led opera to be presented on a Canadian mainstage. "I wish to place the beautiful Indigenous languages, cultures, and narratives of the central continent—those that have been relegated to a historical footnote at best, a nuisance or a threat at worst—to their rightful place at the heart of cultural institutions of the region," said Métis poet and scholar Dr. Suzanne Steele.

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New Indigenous opera is a story of good medicine

Thursday, June 1, 2023 @ 3:08 PM

This fall, Manitoba Opera will be performing the world premiere of Li Keur: Riel's Heart of the North, the first full-scale Indigenous-led opera presented on a Canadian mainstage. It celebrates Métis women, languages, music, and culture, with libretto written by Métis poet and scholar Dr. Suzanne Steele and music composed by Métis fiddler Alex Kusturok and CMU faculty Neil Weisensel.

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Innovative Indigenous language database developed and launched by Li Keur team and CMU

Monday, June 21, 2021 @ 11:25 AM

The team behind Li Keur, Riel's Heart of the North launched an innovative Indigenous language database this spring.

Li Keur is a new dramatic musical work co-created by Métis poet and scholar Dr. Suzanne Steele, who wrote the libretto, and CMU Adjunct Professor of Music Neil Weisensel, who composed the music alongside Métis fiddler Alex Kusturok. It is a reimagining of Louis Riel's "missing" years from 1870–72 and the strong women that surrounded him.

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