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<\/a>About the risk of City Opera Vancouver being \u201ccanceled\u201d for presenting Salam-Shalom, Gerrard said, \u201cCertainly, we have committed to this special event after careful consideration of the charged environment that we are all a part of right now. We wanted to be sure that we acted responsibly, and that we would be able to create a respectful space for everyone involved. Because I trust Jaclyn, Miriam and Idan entirely, we\u2019ve been able to have many helpful conversations about this event and how to go about it. This has given us at City Opera confidence that we are doing something that intends to create better understanding and, for us, this remains the priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal with this project is to create a space for nuanced dialogue, where all voices can be heard and where empathy and understanding can grow,\u201d said Grossman. \u201cWhile this kind of work isn\u2019t always easy, I believe it\u2019s essential. In times like these, it\u2019s more important than ever for communities to come together, listen to one another, and foster compassion. To me, standing together in empathy and respect for all people feels like the only path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy concern,\u201d said Khalil, \u201cis that we have a responsibility to one another. If we keep being afraid, then no change will ever take place. We must unite and listen to each other. As Jaclyn mentioned, without compassion and empathy, the way forward feels unattainable. There is great growth in seeing and appreciating one another\u2019s perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grossman and Khalil chose the repertoire, and the result will be a concert of \u201cbeautiful and seldom performed works entirely curated by the two of them,\u201d said Gerrard.<\/p>\n
The hour-long program comprises melodies from myriad musical heritages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Ladino, Spanish and Yiddish. The concert\u2019s press release highlights \u201cEli, Eli,\u201d an arrangement of a poem by Jewish-Hungarian resistance fighter Hannah Szenes during the Second World War; \u201cMermaid Songs\u201d by Palestinian-American composer Felix Jarrar; \u201cUkolebavka,\u201d a lullaby by Jewish composer Ilse Weber, who wrote and performed songs to comfort children when she was interned in Terez\u00edn; \u201cAyre,\u201d by Argentine Jew Osvaldo Golijov, which explores the themes of exile and belonging using the words of a Hebrew prayer and those of Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish; and \u201cThe New Colossus,\u201d a setting of Emma Lazarus\u2019s poem (inscribed on the Statue of Liberty) by pianist and composer Nate Ben-Horin, who is part of Grossman\u2019s duo, the Likht Ensemble. Another of the songs on the program is \u201cMi Lo Yeshalach,\u201d by contemporary Israeli composer Hana Ajiashvili. The complete repertoire, with all the lyrics, has been posted on cityoperavancouver.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home<\/i> is an urgent expression of a voice that feels increasingly silenced,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cI believe the growing calls to silence or divide rather than engage in dialogue are deeply troubling. When Jaclyn, Miriam and Gordon reached out, I immediately said yes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis project also speaks to my responsibility to uphold these values and address the horrors we are living through, through art,\u201d Cohen added. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to see conflict in simple opposites \u2013 right and wrong, us and them \u2013 but true understanding asks us to face complexities.<\/p>\n \u201cArt,\u201d he said, \u201cshould remain a space for reflection and critical thought, not moral posturing. I believe in its power to unite, to reveal our shared humanity, and to keep hope for peace alive.\u201d<\/p>\n