Celebrate 100 Years of Insulin with Michael Park’s Opera, Diagnosis: Diabetes
Throughout November 2021, composer Michael Park is celebrating 30 years of living with diabetes, as well as the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, by live streaming his award winning opera, Diagnosis: Diabetes for free.
Michael is teaming up with diabetes organizations across North America to present livestreams of Erato Ensemble’s world-premiere performance of the world's first interactive opera about diabetes. Tune in to one of the events to hear the composer discuss the project with representatives from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, We Are Diabetes, and BC Diabetes. To connect your organization with this exciting event, get in touch!
Scroll down for the calendar of events, watch a preview of the opera to the right, or click below to learn more about the work and composer.
Check out what people are saying about Diagnosis: Diabetes.
+ About the Opera
Diagnosis: Diabetes is a 1-hour chamber opera that tells the story of Charlie, from his diagnosis as a young boy and as he grows up navigating life with type-1 diabetes. The opera is fun, engaging, and lighthearted, without shying away from the realities of living with a chronic condition. By encouraging the audience to answer multiple-choice (musical) questions about diabetes, the work is educational, but also includes dynamic narrative scenes that allow the audience to experience what it’s like to actually have diabetes.
In 2013, an early version of the opera won the Gold Medal at the Boston Metropolitan Opera's International Composers' Competition, and the completed work was premiered by Vancouver's Erato Ensemble in November 2015. We are currently looking for opportunities to remount the work so if you are a performer, producer, or opera lover who who wants to help bring this work to life, don't hesistate to get in touch.
+ About the Composer
Michael Park is a composer and pianist whose work bridges the gap between real-world and musical experience. His Ted Talk Experiencing Disease Through Music has been described as moving, haunting, and an amazing translation of the disease. His opera, Diagnosis: Diabetes has received awards and high praise for turning an otherwise invisible illness into something the audience gets to experience. Michael is an active pianist, within Vancouver’s dance and new-music communities. He is also a founder and co-director of Art Song Lab.
