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On the Sunday, November 13th performance of Angel of the Amazon, Encompass was honored to welcome four members of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the religious order Sister Dorothy Stang was a member of. We were joined by Sister Kathleen Harmon, Provincial Leader of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, and Sister Mary Alice McCabe, who worked with Sister Dorothy Stang in Brazil. Both of them flew in from Cincinnati, Ohio, to speak on the panel about Sister Dorothy.
We were also joined by Sister Maria Delaney who works with the United Nations and organizations on 5 continents, and Sister Kominko from Japan who was in attendance. Joined by the Composer/librettist Evan Mack, the panel was moderated by Artistic Director Nancy Rhodes.
Sister Kathleen Harmon gave a beautiful testimony of how she and Evan Mack attended the same seminar in which she was a keynote speaker. She told the tragic story of what happened to Sister Dorothy which inspired him to write the opera. Sister Mary Alice spoke about living and working in Brazil with Sister Dorothy, and the dedication and perseverance of Dorothy's work with the community for over 40 years.
Following the murder and martyrdom of Sister Dorothy, they traveled to the community where she lived and worked. Because of the remote location, the plane had no landing strip, but instead the indigenous people of the area had created a giant sunflower on the ground so that the plane knew where to land and to receive them in mourning. The audience, cast members, and artistic team were deeply moved by the personal stories of the sister's friendship with Dorothy Stang and how important her work is for today. We deeply thank the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for their presence with us following the performance on November 13th.
Grateful thanks also to Mark Watson, Special Events Coordinator and Roger Cunningham, Co-Founder of Encompass.
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