Qana

This piece is a personal reflection through operatic voice and movement on the 1996 massacre at Qana. It is believed by many that Jesus Christ performed his first miracle in Qana, a small town in what is now southern Lebanon. At a wedding feast there, he turned water into wine. On April 19, 1996, in that same town, 106 Lebanese civilians, mostly women and children, were killed by an Israeli air raid on a UN hangar where people sought shelter thinking that they were protected in a UN safety zone. On that day, innocent people’s blood overflowed like wine, the wine of the wedding Jesus attended in that same village almost 2000 years earlier.

October 11, 2019 at 7:30 PM

About the artist

Hungarian-born mezzo Bó Bárdos is based in Southern Ontario and loves touring. With a voice described by Opera Canada as “mellow, fruity, that caresses the ears”, appearances include interdisciplinary collaborative and site-specific projects that make use of her varied training: from Butoh dance and physical theatre to extended vocal technique and improvisation. Bó continues as a grateful member of the studio of Tom Schilling. When not on stage, in studio, or out recording sounds, she can be found on the back of a horse or meditating under her favourite clump of trees.

Majdi Bou-Matar is a Lebanese-Canadian theatre maker. He holds an MA degree in Drama from the University of Guelph with research focus on Canadian intercultural theatre. Majdi founded MT Space in the Waterloo Region of Ontario and is currently the Artistic Director of its biennial international theatre festival IMPACT. His most recent directing credits include The Last 15 seconds, Body 13, Paradise, The Raft, Adrenaline, Suitcase and Amal. His work tours nationally and internationally.

Ric Knowles has worked as a play development dramaturge for over 35 years at theatres ranging from Mulgrave Road to the Stratford Festival. Most recently he has worked with MT Space (Amal, Body 13), Modern Times (Thirst, The Death of the King, Hallaj) , Cahoots (The Wanderers, Sister Mary’s a Dyke), Factory (The Unplugging), Why Not Theatre’s Riser Project (El Retorno/The Return),  ARTICLE 11 (Declaration), and The Chocolate Woman Collective (Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way).  He is author or editor of twenty books on theatre and performance and is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph.