A fine conference here in Banff. We ended this morning, so I am now officially on vacation. I was very proud to exchange ideas and opinions with Canada’s Opera giants in a place that has fostered some of our nation’s greatest artists. Yesterday afternoon was particulary invigorating. We participated in something called a ‘conversation cafe’ that involved a series of group discussions, and then challenged us to commit our own ideas about the future of opera in Canada to paper. (Sidebar…simply writing the word ‘Canada’ makes me feel proud). At one point, as we were all silently writing away, two…

Last night I fell asleep cradled in the arm of the mountains. My incredible fortune has granted me the opportunity to spend four days at the Banff Centre for the 2009 Opera Colloquium, and this place is pure magic. The Centre is a compound for artists who come for residencies and retreats to create and workshop their pieces. Imagine a small university campus devoted to creation. All of the people I’m meeting are devoted to their art, and are passionate about their work. For the next three days we’re sharing ideas about creating new opera, and the importance of opera…

And no sweet whisper, Or gentle sigh, or finely crafted love note, carefully composed ballad, time-honoured tradition, sacred vow, could stop the roar of water rushing through my ears. In the leafy green shadow cast by boughs overburdened, hard droplets slap against the lichen-speckled wood the wooden floor that warmed me from the souls of my feet to the pads of my fingers. Slapping, and smacking, and rushing through my ears. Bare shoulders to the moist warm air, sturdy boots clumping through the gathering pools, all emerald reflections dotted slowly with the coltish blue, peeking coyly through the now relenting…