TLINGIT OPERA

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Sealaska Heritage Institute has partnered with Juneau’s Perseverance Theatre to co-produce the first Tlingit opera in recorded history. This original opera will focus on stories from the Tlingit-Russian Wars in Alaska and be based on historical facts and oral traditions as told from the Tlingit perspective. The world premiere is set for Sept. 11, 2026, at the Thunder Mountain Middle School auditorium. Tickets are available for purchase at www.ptalaska.org.

“Kutulagaaw: The Tlingit – Russian Battles” was initiated by SHI, created by Vera Starbard (librettist), Edward Littlefield (composer), X’unei Lance Twitchell (translator & Language consultant), and Rory Stitt (orchestrator), and is being produced in collaboration with Perseverance Theatre with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the First Peoples Fund, the National New Play Network and the Mellon Foundation.

“Ḵutulagaaw” loosely translates to “the war we are in.” The opera will be performed in the Tlingit language and include a score grounded in Tlingit musical and performing arts traditions and events, some of which were formerly held in natural amphitheaters set in mountain valleys. The libretto will revolve around the relatively unknown history of the Russian War waged in Alaska first in 1802, when the Tlingit and Haida united against the Russians because they were violating Tlingit laws and appropriating land and resources, and again in 1804.

“The idea of creating a Tlingit Opera came to me after listening to recordings of oral accounts in the Sitka National Historic Park collection and reading historical accounts of the Tlingit-Russian war,” said Dr. Rosita Ḵaaháni Worl, president of SHI. “One account described the moments before a battle. The Tlingit and Haida were waiting on the beach. As the women beat their drums, the fog lifted, revealing the approaching Russians. I could see them advancing and hear the chaos of war: drumbeats, yelling and metal clashing.” 

Performances will be held on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons Sept. 11-20. The performances on Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12 are sold out, but tickets for all remaining shows are available for purchase at PT’s website.

Artistic Statement by Rosita Ḵaaháni Worl

“The Southeast Alaska Natives once had theatrical performances in natural amphitheaters nestled in the majestic and mystical forests. We drew from our ancient forms of oratory and dance and used our traditional masks, hats and regalia that were imbued with the spirits of our ancestors and that reflected our relationships with the animals they depicted. Our actors enacted our oral traditions that had been handed down through generations. These amphitheaters were abandoned after those infected with the flu pandemic crawled to these spaces, never to be used again.

As we learned about theater, the drama offered in opera seemed to be the next step to move us further in our journey into Western performing arts. Thus, SHI entered into its existing partnership with PT two decades ago. Ours has been a productive partnership, a partnership that has significantly increased the number of Alaska Native performers, playwrights and other theatre professionals. SHI and PT’s partnership has also contributed to the number of original plays written by Alaska Native people and about Alaska Native cultures. However, developing a Tlingit opera is new to SHI and PT.

I conceived of the Tlingit Opera as a Tlingit anthropologist who has heard our oral traditions throughout my life and studied the Tlingit oral narratives of the war collected in the 1950s as well as historical documentation of the Tlingit-Russian War. One such study was published by Sealaska Heritage Institute entitled, “Anóoshi Lingít Aaní Ká / Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka, 1802 and 1804,” edited by Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Richard Dauenhauer and Lydia T. Black.

Our vision is to challenge stereotypes that depict Indigenous societies as primitive. We want to overcome the historical depictions of a tribal society without laws. We want to humanize Native Peoples and portray the deep feelings we have; that we sing, dance, grieve and battle as do others. We want to show that we acted strategically to allow us to survive in this new world that was engulfing us and that we willingly adapted and embraced elements of Western society. We want to portray the gender equity and the significant role women play even in warfare. We believe the uniqueness of an Indigenous story conveyed through opera can be brought to the national arena and enlighten a large segment of the nation to the richness of cultural diversity within our country.”

About the Creators

Ed Littlefield Shaakindustóow (composer and musical director) is a freelance percussionist, educator and composer based out of Seattle, WA. He is Tlingit from Sitka, Alaska and has released three albums featuring traditional native melodies with the Native Jazz Quartet called “Walking Between Worlds”, “NJQ: Stories” and most recently “NJQ: Southeast: Northwest”. Ed has played K’alyaan in the premiere of Battles of Fire and Water and written and performed an original score for Eurydice for Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. He has done sound design and composition for the world premieres of Our Voices Will Be Heard and composition and cultural advising for They Don’t Talk Back at Native Voices at the Autry, La Jolla Playhouse and Perseverance Theatre. He was the composer and sound designer for Off the Rails at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Sovereignty at Arena Stage. Most recently he was the composer and sound designer for Perseverance Theatre’s Devilfish and The Spirit of the Valley.

Vera Starbard, T’set Kwei (librettist) is an Emmy-nominated Tlingit and Dena’ina television writer, playwright and magazine editor. She has written on shows including ABC’s Alaska Daily, and the PBS Kids animated show Molly of Denali, which won a Peabody Award in 2020 and was nominated for two Emmys in 2022. Vera was also co-head writer for a series of Molly of Denali shorts airing in 2022. She was previously the playwright-in-residence at Perseverance Theatre through the Andrew W. Mellon National Playwright Residency Program.

Lance Twitchell is participating as the English-Tlingit translator/coach. He carries the Tlingit names X’unei, Du Aaní Kawdinook and Yoo Kaawajígi Yéil. He lives in Juneau and is from the Tlingit, Haida and Yupik Native nations. He speaks and studies the Tlingit language and advocates for Indigenous language revitalization. He is an Assistant Professor of Alaska Native Languages at the University of Alaska Southeast and is also a multimedia Northwest Coast Artist and a musician. He holds a Ph.D. in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization from the University of Hawaii Hilo and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Rory Merritt Stitt (orchestrator and sound designer) is a Tlingit composer, pianist, sound designer, performer and visual artist recognized primarily for interdisciplinary composition and performance. Stitt endeavors to draw audiences into the immediacy of the present moment with song, spatial audio installations, painting, poetry and musical improvisation. Their work invites introspection and focus on the sharing of lived experiences. Notable engagements include Joe’s Pub in NYC, MIDEM in Cannes, the Kennedy Center, and the CBC.

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About Perseverance Theatre and Sealaska Heritage Institute

Perseverance Theatre is Alaska’s largest professional theatre, and a non-profit organization serving over 21,000 artists, students and audiences annually. PT’s mission is to produce professional theatre by and for Alaskans while providing educational opportunities that nurture and serve our communities. We value community engagement, cross-cultural collaboration, professional rigor, and regional voice. PT is governed by a statewide, nine-member board of community members, professionals and artists. Established in 1979, Perseverance has produced over 70 world premieres, bringing to life new work, including many stories by Alaska Native and other Alaskan playwrights. PT often collaborates with Indigenous peoples from across Alaska, the lower 48 and Canada.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a non-profit tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cross-cultural understanding by educating the general public about the Indigenous cultures of Alaska. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee, a Southeast Regional Language Committee and an Education Committee.