Tornrak facts for kids

Tornrak is an opera by Welsh composer John Metcalf. It tells a story using both English and Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit people. The opera mixes two different worlds: the cold Arctic in Canada and busy Victorian Britain. It uses special singing styles, like Inuit throat singing, to make the Arctic parts sound unique.

John Metcalf wrote Tornrak between 1986 and 1990 while he was working in Canada. The opera was first performed in 1990. It was a joint project between the Banff Centre in Canada, where Metcalf worked, and the Welsh National Opera, who asked him to create it.

How the Opera Was Made

The Welsh National Opera first talked to John Metcalf about writing another opera in 1981. But it wasn't until 1986 that Metcalf and the writer, Michael Wilcox, started working together. Wilcox first had a different idea, but Metcalf then suggested a true story from the 1800s.

This true story was about an Inuit girl named Milak. She saved a British sailor named Arthur. Like the character in the opera, the real Milak was shown to people as a "circus freak." However, the real Milak eventually returned home, unlike the character in the opera.

Metcalf's move to Canada in 1986 greatly influenced Tornrak. He went there to teach at the Banff Centre in Alberta. He later became the head of the music program and the main composer there. Wilcox visited Metcalf in Canada to work on the first version of the story. He used the library there to learn about Inuit traditions and stories.

Metcalf felt that being in Canada helped him tell the story more truly. He said, "I could now be in contact with a way of looking at the world, the culture, the music, and the language of the Inuit that would have been absolutely impossible in Wales."

Starting in 1988, Metcalf tested parts of the opera in workshops at Banff. The Banff Centre was known for supporting new musical works. He also worked with experienced people like Keith Turnbull and Richard E. Armstrong. Armstrong was a singer who used many unusual vocal sounds. Metcalf wrote parts of the opera with Armstrong's special voice in mind, especially for the spirits and animals.

The Inuit parts of the opera also needed new singing styles for Western singers. Fides Krucker, who played Milak in Banff, visited Iqaluit in 1989 and 1990. There, she learned Inuit throat singing techniques. She used these in her performances and helped Metcalf with the music.

Wilcox, the writer, let Metcalf make any changes to the story that were needed. He even traveled back to Banff to update the text. One big change was deciding to translate much of the first act from English into Inuktitut. Because the two languages have different rhythm patterns, Metcalf had to rewrite some of the vocal parts. He moved some of the singing into the orchestra's music instead.

The Welsh National Opera also agreed to make Tornrak a bigger show. It was originally planned as a small opera for only ten singers. But now it would have a larger cast, including a chorus, and be performed in bigger theaters. All these changes made the opera stronger, but they also caused many delays. This meant the first performance had to be postponed several times.

Characters in the Opera

Performances

Tornrak had a special "World Preview Performance" in Banff on February 23, 1990. This show did not have a chorus. The scenery, props, and costumes were shared with the Welsh National Opera.

The first full performance by the Welsh National Opera was on May 19, 1990, at the New Theatre, Cardiff. This was two years later than planned! This first Welsh performance, which included a chorus, is often called the official first show. Another performance in Cardiff later that month was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The show then traveled to six cities in England during June and July.

About the Music and Story

The music of Tornrak uses many different instruments, including strings, woodwinds (like flutes and clarinets), brass (like horns and trumpets), piano, and percussion. The first act's music often uses a rising scale, while the second act uses a falling scale.

The opera's music is complex and has many layers of sound. It often uses mid-range sounds from woodwind instruments and tuned percussion. In Metcalf's earlier opera, solo instruments usually played high notes that reacted to the singers. But Tornrak uses solo violin or high piano notes only sometimes. The opera uses very different sounds and pitches to create strong contrasts.

Tornrak also explores ideas that Metcalf used in his earlier works. These ideas include:

• Different cultures clashing.
• People feeling lost or out of place.
• Humans trying to connect with nature.
• People being forced to leave their homes.

These themes are all important in Tornrak. The idea of clashing cultures is shown strongly in two big crowd scenes: a fair and a court scene. In these parts, the music sounds "vertical," meaning the different musical parts clash, showing the different values of the people. In most of the opera, the music develops "horizontally," with each part moving on its own. This shows how each character's life unfolds.

A special part of the opera is how it uses Inuit throat singing and other unique vocal techniques. This creates very different sound worlds for the scenes in the Arctic and those in Victorian Britain. Inuit singers helped in the workshops in Banff and even traveled to Wales to train the Welsh National Opera cast. It's common for operas to mix different music styles when cultures clash, but Tornrak is special because Inuit music and its singing techniques are very different from Western music.

Story of the Opera

Act I

The story begins in 1850. A British naval ship, the Endeavour, is in the Canadian Arctic. The Captain asks a sailor named Arthur Nesbit why he has been causing trouble. The rest of Act I and most of Act II then tell the story of what happened earlier, like a flashback.

The flashback starts in 1845. Another British ship, the Enterprise, has sunk in the Arctic. Arthur and three other sailors escape onto the ice. One sailor, Kellett, kills a young officer named Collinson after they fight over some valuable items. Kellett and another sailor, Billy, escape without Arthur. Arthur is saved from starving when he sees a polar bear taking meat from its hidden food supply. Arthur dreams of going home and being rich with the valuables. A ghostly figure warns him that he needs to survive first.

Milak, a young Inuk girl, arrives. She is guided by her tornrak, which is a spirit guide that looks like an owl. Milak knows about the bear's hidden meat and plans to take some. But her tornrak leaves her when it senses Arthur is there. Milak wonders if her spirit guide has led her into a trap. Arthur, in turn, thinks she has come to steal from him.

The bear returns, and the two humans fight it. The spirits of Inuit hunters sing that the bear's time has come, and Arthur delivers the final blow. Milak sings with the dying animal using throat-singing. She frees its tornrak by skinning the bear. She gives Arthur the bear's fur. She then leads him towards her village, which has been badly affected by a disease brought by the British. On the way, she convinces him to leave behind the valuable items that were slowing him down. But she decides to keep a "Great White Bird flying with many wings," which is a ship in a bottle that reminds her of her tornrak.

When they reach the village, only Milak's father, Utak, is still alive. He expects to die and calls his tornrak. His spirit guide takes his life as payment for all the help it gave him since he was a child. His body is left unburied, and his spirit is left to wander.

During the Winter, Arthur and Milak learn parts of each other's languages. In the Spring, a British ship arrives to trade with the village. An explorer, Sir Charles Keighley, decides to take Milak to Britain to help with his research. She agrees because she thinks the ship is her tornrak.

Act II

Sir Charles has finished his talks about the Arctic and is thanked by Lady Delisle at her home. Now that he is done with Milak, he tells Arthur to take care of her.

Arthur and Milak, who is called "The Wild Savage of the Frozen North," join a traveling fair in Wales. She is shown to people in a cage. The people watching find her performance scary. She convinces a bear to break open her cage, and then she escapes. The crowd is scared by the bear, and a police officer shoots it, even though the bearkeeper begs him not to. Both the bearkeeper and Arthur are now without their attractions.

Milak survives in the countryside by catching animals like rabbits and sheep. She moves to a factory town and meets Arthur again. He tries to convince her to go back to the Arctic. But she believes it's impossible now because she has become more like a Westerner and feels disconnected from nature. The bearkeeper recognizes them and has Milak arrested for stealing sheep. The Judge sentences her to a very serious punishment, even with protests from Arthur and the crowd that she had no other choice.

Back on the Endeavour, Arthur has finished telling his story. The Captain leaves him in charge of the ship's steering wheel. Arthur takes off his clothes and calls out to Milak's spirit. He hopes the ship will sink and protect the Inuit people from the dangers the crew brings. In a sudden storm, Milak's tornrak arrives, again in the form of an owl.

Arthur is found dead and frozen to the steering wheel. Only the Mate is willing to obey the Captain and remove the body. When he throws Arthur's body overboard, the storm stops, and the ship suddenly becomes still. The compass no longer works.