TLINGIT OPERA

(Save the Date)

SHI has partnered with Juneau’s Perseverance Theatre to produce the first Tlingit opera in recorded history. This original opera will focus on stories from the Tlingit-Russian War in Alaska waged in 1802 and 1804 and be based on historical facts and oral traditions as told from the Tlingit perspective. 

Kutulagaaw: The Tlingit — Russian Battles (working title), was commissioned by Sealaska Heritage Institute, 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.

The opera will include a score grounded in Tlingit musical and performing arts traditions and events, some of which were held in natural amphitheaters set in mountain valleys. The libretto will revolve primarily around the relatively unknown history of the 1802 Tlingit-Russian war in Southeast Alaska in which the Tlingit and Haida united and were victorious. That victory was followed by their defeat and the Tlingit retreat from Sitka in 1804.

The world premiere of the Opera is set for Sept. 11, 2026, at the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé.