Naomi's Road is an opera written specially for Vancouver Opera in the schools. It is taken from Naomi's Road, the book for young readers by Joy Kogawa. She adapted it for children from Obasan, her award-winning novel about the internment of Japanese-Canadians during World War II.
School performances of Naomi's Road were fully booked before the school year started. The Sunshine Coast Music Society (SCMS) booked it into the Raven's Cry Theatre Sunday, May 21, at 2:30 p.m. Written by B.C. composer Ramona Luengen, it is performed by four singers and a pianist. The fully staged and costumed opera lasts 45 minutes. The cast and crew will answer questions after the show.
Thanks to financial sponsorship, SCMS is presenting this performance free for students. Students must apply to their schools for tickets. Tickets for adults, other than students' escorts, are available from SCMS at 604-741-0777. The society requests donations from adults attending the opera. Sponsorship was generous, but not sufficient to cover all expenses.
Naomi, a nine-year-old Japanese Canadian girl, lives with her family in Marpole, south Vancouver. She and older brother Stephen are happy children in 1941. Then their mother has to leave for Japan to care for Naomi's sick grandmother. Their father's sister, the children's Obasan, comes to stay.
In 1942, Canada declared war on Japan. People of Japanese descent, even Canadian citizens, were declared enemy aliens. In Kogawa's books, Naomi and Stephen were evacuated with Obasan to Slocan. Their father was sent to a labour camp.
Although Naomi's Road is fiction, it is autobiographical and reflects historical facts. Naomi's story continues as she faces the harshness of internment as well as racism and bullying. Her internal resilience and support from an Aboriginal friend help her to bear these burdens. Love and reconciliation show Naomi her road.
