Opera for a sex goddess: Sooke poet’s words about Marilyn Monroe become libretto
The creation of a new opera, a big deal even in a major musical centre, counts as a very big deal in a moderate-sized city like Victoria, especially when the stature of the artists involved, and the subject, guarantee it will attract international attention.
Such is the case with Anyone Can See I Love You, an opera in development here. The libretto is by Marilyn Bowering, who lives in Sooke. The music is by Gavin Bryars, who is based in his native England but has spent part of each year in Metchosin since meeting his wife here 12 years ago. And the subject is an imperishable icon of 20th-century popular culture: Marilyn Monroe.
The opera was commissioned by the Aventa Ensemble, a widely admired local chamber orchestra devoted to contemporary music, founded in 2003 (and still directed) by the percussionist and conductor Bill Linwood. Ambitious and adventurous, Aventa has premièred more than 50 works over the years, but Anyone Can See I Love You is its first operatic commission. Funding for the project, whose total cost could easily reach $250,000, is coming from various foundations and government sources.
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