Ganondagan welcomes home a wampum exhibit

BY REBECCA RAFFERTY @RSRAFFERTY BECCA@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

Acollection of belts, beaded items, and artifacts original to the Indigenous people of this region are back in traditional Haudenosaunee territory for the first time since being given to Europeans nearly 300 years ago — and they are on display at Ganondagan’s Seneca Art & Culture Center.

The pieces belong to the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris but are on display at Ganondagan now and through the summer. The exhibit, “WAMPUM/ OTGOÄ,” runs until Sept. 16, before traveling to the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal, and then home to Paris.

Michael Galban, Ganondagan’s manager and curator for the exhibit, said representatives of the Parisian museum contacted him in 2020 wanting advice on mounting an exhibition of the items as they related to French diplomacy.

“And that I was happy to do, but I really encouraged them to think more broadly about the exhibition,” Galban said. “I wanted them to include a diversity of Haudenosaunee voices so that they could gain a better understanding of what they’re actually holding and what they’re actually exhibiting, because the objects they have don’t have much cultural interpretation associated with them.”

The French curators took his advice and agreed to the project also being shown at Ganondagan. They helped Galban secure grants to develop an exhibition that was first launched in Paris last year before opening at the SACC in late March.

A lesson in this display that Galban wants to emphasize is that these objects were not only given to Europeans as gifts to foster diplomacy, but that they were made during a time of relative parity between Indigenous tribes and settlers from France, England, and the Dutch Republic.

“All of this territory was Haudenosaunee, and there was an

Call For Creatives

Auditions

“GODSPELL”

May 15, 6 to 10 p.m. / Blackfriars Theatre / Blackfriars Theatre Summer Intensive/JCC Summer Stage / Initial auditions at the JCC will begin with a dance call at 6 p.m. Prepare two 32-bar cuts in the style of the show (comedic contemporary musical theater). Bring a headshot, your resume, and your calendar.

Performances: July 28 through Aug. 6. / blackfriars.org/auditions-godspell

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

“NEW DIMENSIONS IN COLLAGE” EXHIBITION

Deadline: May 10 / Vayo Collage Gallery / 4th international exhibition of collage art to take place in Rochester from June 3 to 24 at Vayo Collage Gallery. / vayocollagegallery.com

CORN HILL EMERGING ARTISTS EXPO

Deadline: June 7 / Corn Hill Arts Festival / All emerging artists are encouraged to apply. The festival takes place July 8-9, and draws thousands of visitors. / cornhill.org/emergingartists-expo

“INSPIRED BY NATURE” EXHIBITION

Deadline: June 10 / Main Street Arts Gallery, Clifton Springs / Artists ages 18+ who live in New York State can submit their work for consideration for an upcoming nature-focused exhibition. Artists may submit up to 10 pieces and are encouraged to submit that many, as selected artists will be invited to show multiple works. / mainstreetartscs.org

GRANTS

GENESEE VALLEY ARTS GRANTS interest in expanding the European colonies and the Haudenosaunee people were in the middle of this grand negotiation over time, and the wars that took place,” Galban said. “These objects were made at a time when one nation was not over another, and there was an equity to the alliances that were being formed.”

A handful of works by contemporary Indigenous artists are displayed alongside the historic wampum objects. One of the contributors is Skawennati, a Mohawk artist based in Montreal who works in Haudenosaunee futurism.

“We have an historic past here at Ganondagan, and we also talk about contemporary Haudenosaunee life,” Galban said. “But what she’s interested in is, what will the future look like and how does wampum fit into that future? Her pieces are actually belts that imagine a future where relationships with extra-extraterrestrials would fit into that sort of diplomatic process.”

Associated programming throughout the run of the exhibition includes presentations by artists on a monthly basis. For details, visit ganondagan.org.

Deadline: May 18 / NYSCA/ Genesee Valley Council on the Arts / Individual Artists Grants are for $2,500. Submit up to three applications in any combination of categories (Community Arts, Artists in Education, and Individual Artist) totaling no more than $5,000. / gvartscouncil. org/individual-arts

ARTIST GRANTS PROGRAM FOR ROCHESTER MUSICIANS

Deadline: June 3 / The Local Sound Collaborative / This program will provide regular monthly payments of $200/month for 12 months beginning December 1. Six Rochester-based music artists ages 18+ will be selected with three spots reserved for artists of color. / thelocalsoundcollaborative.org

COMPILED BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

THE RPO BRINGS ‘RIGOLETTO’ TO LIFE

When Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Andreas Delfs recently discussed composer Giuseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” which the RPO will present in concert on May 18 and 20, he was clear about one thing in particular.

“It is easy to under-appreciate Verdi,” Delfs said.

The RPO’s annual tradition of presenting a popular opera in concert was established before Delfs took the helm. But as the former director of the Bern Opera, he fell easily into the rhythm. Delfs led his first, “Hansel and Gretel,” in 2021, and is following it up with “Rigoletto,” a staple of the operatic repertoire since 1851.

Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso once described Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” as requiring “simply the four greatest voices in the world” — and “Rigoletto” is equally demanding for its leading roles.

The title character is one of the great powerhouse roles for a dramatic baritone: a deformed, embittered jester in a morally corrupt court whose desire for revenge unknowingly leads to his daughter’s death.

Baritone Lester Lynch, who makes his RPO debut as Rigoletto, was drawn to this character while still a voice student. “Long before I was able to sing it,” he said. Since then, he has sung the role frequently and still loves it. (His email address is “Rigolettoman.”)

“How often does the baritone get to be the title character?” Lynch asked. “‘Rigoletto’ is dramatically fascinating. So many stories wrapped into a single, gutwrenching story with the moral, ‘power corrupts.’”

The score contains some of opera’s greatest hits, including “La donna é mobile,” “Caro nome,” and a dramatic quartet. For Delfs, “Rigoletto” is not just a collection of great tunes; it’s an almost Shakespearian drama.

“Verdi is not only one of the greatest composers, but also one of the greatest psychologists of opera,” Delfs said. “He turns the incredibly torn, agonized character of Rigoletto into a three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood man.”

The concert performance will employ a bit of staging, but the focus will be on Verdi’s vocal and instrumental subtleties — and there are many.

“Verdi really needs to be performed in a certain style, with a sound unique to him,” Delfs explained. “He was very particular about what he wanted, even in what seemed to be plain accompaniment patterns. Everything in the music constantly supports the drama.”

The orchestra tells the tragic story as much as the voices do — the RPO will have the chance to let loose in the evocation of a violent storm, which precedes the climax of the drama.

“In a few minutes, Verdi creates the dramatic atmosphere, the darkness, the lightning and thunder,” Delfs said. “It’s a symphonic drama worthy of Beethoven.”

— BY DAVID RAYMOND