Threats to two languages and that of climate change are examined in these new chamber operas.
Madog
Paul Frehner’s futuristic opera is set in a world ravaged by the effects of climate change, as a Québecois descendent of Madog ap Owain Gwynedd, the Welsh prince who sailed to the Americas in 1170, longs to return to Wales from what remains of Québec. Madog Pierre Gwynedd lives near the top of Mount Royal, the only land in the area that is still above water, where he works as a fisherman while dreaming of exploring the expansive waters of this dangerous new world. With steadfast purpose he makes preparations to leave his home in Québec and sail across the seas to find what remains of Wales, his ancestral country, in the hope of re-establishing connections between the peoples of the two lands.
Claire Victoria Roberts, Tynged yr Iaith ('The Fate of the Language’)
William Mathias, Sonatina, Op. 98
Claude Vivier, Paramirabo
Paul Frehner, Horizon: Madog (staged opera)
