An opera premiering in Portland in September is meant to be more than just theater with music; it is also meant to heal.
"The Canticle of the Black Madonna" is a modern story of a soldier struggling with PTSD from the Afghanistan war… in his native Louisiana during the oil spill.
The opera is the creation of composer Ethan Gans-Morse and librettist Tiziana DellaRovere of the Rogue Valley.
They join us with a Vietnam combat veteran to talk about their vision for the opera.