On Monday (September 21), City Opera Vancouver announced that they received a grant of $127,000 from the Vancouver Foundation for their next commission, Missing Women.

The three-year grant will enable City Opera to research, commission, create, test, and workshop their new chamber opera. Missing Women will be set in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and on the Highway of Tears.

First Nations playwright, filmmaker, and performance artist Marie Clements will be the librettist while the composer will be chosen in April by a jury. Ten-minute excerpts from work by three or four prospective composers will be performed at the Canadian Music Centre for jurors.

A dramaturge and stage director are also being selected.

The opera is slated to be performed in November 2017 and will be designed for a tour of British Columbia and eastern Canada.