James Rolfe
Encyclopedia
James Simon Rolfe is one of Canada's leading composers of contemporary music. He studied composition with John Beckwith
at the University of Toronto
and Jo Kondo
in Japan. Rolfe is currently the President of the Canadian League of Composers and has won numerous awards for his music, most recently the 2006 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
and the 2009 SOCAN Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award.
, an opera
set in Nova Scotia
during the 19th century (libretto by George Elliott Clarke
), was produced in 1998 by Toronto's Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company and was subsequently filmed for television by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
in 2000. Rolfe has since composed the children’s opera Elijah’s Kite (libretto by Camyar Chai), which explores bullying among children, and was co-produced by Tapestry New Opera Works and the Manhattan School of Music
in New York City
in 2006; Rosa (libretto by Camyar Chai), produced by Tapestry in Toronto in 2004; Swoon (libretto by Anna Chatterton), produced by the Canadian Opera Company
in 2006; Orpheus and Euridice in 2003 (libretto by André Alexis
) and Aeneas and Dido in 2007 (libretto by André Alexis
). The last two works were both commissioned and produced by Toronto Masque Theatre as companion pieces to Marc-Antoine Charpentier
's Descent of Orpheus to the Underworld
and Henry Purcell
’s Dido and Aeneas
.
In February 2009 Rolfe's opera Inês (with libretto by Paul Bentley) was produced and performed in Toronto by the
Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company. Based on the story of the 14th century Galician Inês de Castro
, it featured fado
singer Inês Santos as the lead character. Rolfe is currently composing a new opera for the Canadian Opera Company with librettist Anna Chatterton for the 2012 season.
John Beckwith (composer)
John Beckwith, CM is a Canadian composer, writer, pianist, teacher, and administrator.Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he studied piano with Alberto Guerrero at the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1945. He received a Mus.B. in 1947 and a Mus.M. in 1961 from the University of Toronto...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and Jo Kondo
Jo Kondo
Jō Kondō is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music.Kondo studied composition from 1968 to 1972 with Yoshio Hasegawa and Hiroaki Minami at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He won the third prize and made his debut in Japan-Germany Contemporary Music Festival in 1969...
in Japan. Rolfe is currently the President of the Canadian League of Composers and has won numerous awards for his music, most recently the 2006 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
The Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music is a Canadian contemporary classical music award given to composers in recognition of quality new works of chamber music. Granted annually since 1978 , the prize is won through a competition administered by the Canadian Music Centre...
and the 2009 SOCAN Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award.
Operas
Although James Rolfe's chamber, vocal, orchestral, and piano works are widely performed, he has become most noted for his operas. Beatrice ChancyBeatrice Chancy
Beatrice Chancy is a 1999 Canadian opera. The libretto was written by George Elliott Clarke, and the music by James Rolfe.Based on Percy Bysshe Shelley's play The Cenci, which was itself based on the true story of Beatrice Cenci, the opera transplants the story from 16th century Italy to the...
, an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
set in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
during the 19th century (libretto by George Elliott Clarke
George Elliott Clarke
George Elliott Clarke, OC is a Canadian poet and playwright. His work largely explores and chronicles the experience and history of the Black Canadian community of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as "Africadia".-Life:Born to William and Geraldine...
), was produced in 1998 by Toronto's Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company and was subsequently filmed for television by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
in 2000. Rolfe has since composed the children’s opera Elijah’s Kite (libretto by Camyar Chai), which explores bullying among children, and was co-produced by Tapestry New Opera Works and the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2006; Rosa (libretto by Camyar Chai), produced by Tapestry in Toronto in 2004; Swoon (libretto by Anna Chatterton), produced by the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
in 2006; Orpheus and Euridice in 2003 (libretto by André Alexis
André Alexis
André Alexis is a Canadian writer who grew up in Ottawa and currently lives in Toronto, Ontario....
) and Aeneas and Dido in 2007 (libretto by André Alexis
André Alexis
André Alexis is a Canadian writer who grew up in Ottawa and currently lives in Toronto, Ontario....
). The last two works were both commissioned and produced by Toronto Masque Theatre as companion pieces to Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, , was a French composer of the Baroque era.Exceptionally prolific and versatile, he produced compositions of the highest quality in several genres...
's Descent of Orpheus to the Underworld
La descente d'Orphée aux enfers
La descente d'Orphée aux enfers is a chamber opera in two acts by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was probably composed in early 1686 and probably was performed either in the private apartment of the Dauphin that spring, or at Fontainebleau in the fall...
and Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
’s Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
.
In February 2009 Rolfe's opera Inês (with libretto by Paul Bentley) was produced and performed in Toronto by the
Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company. Based on the story of the 14th century Galician Inês de Castro
Inês de Castro
Inês Peres de Castro was a Galician noblewoman born of a Portuguese mother...
, it featured fado
Fado
Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
singer Inês Santos as the lead character. Rolfe is currently composing a new opera for the Canadian Opera Company with librettist Anna Chatterton for the 2012 season.
Awards
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(2000) - K. M. Hunter Music Award (2003)
- Louis ApplebaumLouis ApplebaumLouis Applebaum, was a Canadian composer, administrator, and conductor.He was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with Leo Smith and the University of Toronto with Boris Berlin, Healey Willan and Ernest MacMillan...
Composers Award (2005) - Jules Léger Prize (2006)
Other selected compositions
- Idiot Sorrow (1990)
- Simon & Garfunkel & The Prophets of Rage (1993)
- Ears, Nose and Throat, (1994)
- Revenge! Revenge!! Revenge!!! (1995)
- Squeeze (1997)
- Mechanical Danny (2000)
- Six Songs (text by Walt Whitman) (2001)
- Worry (2001)
- raW (2003)
- Flourish (2005)
Further reading
- Steenhuisen, Paul. "Interview with James Rolfe". In Sonic Mosaics: Conversations with Composers. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0888644749