IQALUIT - Iqalummiut are getting ready for a rare infusion of classical culture this week.

Starting tomorrow, Calgary Opera's Emerging Artists Program will perform parts of Frobisher, a new and nationally-acclaimed opera, in Iqaluit as part of their tour of the North. The trip will take them from Iqaluit to Norman Wells, NWT, as they perform community concerts, run school workshops and take in Northern culture.

Laura Whalen as Anna and Marc Hervieux as Michael in the Calgary Opera world premiere of Frobisher. Calgary Opera's Emerging Artist Program will bring excerpts of the piece to Iqaluit tomorrow night at Aqsarniit school. - photo courtesy of Trudie Lee

Organizer and Aqsarniit school principal Darlene Nuqingaq said this is the first Canadian opera company she can remember coming to Iqaluit, and Iqalummiut are looking forward to it.

"Anyone I've mentioned it to is really excited," she said.

The company plans to hold performances at Aqsarniit and Inuksuk schools the morning of Feb. 6, followed by workshops at Inuksuk in the afternoon, and a free community concert at Aqsarniit at 7:30 p.m. Before travelling to Yellowknife, the troupe will hold a workshop on Feb. 7, where Emerging Artists co-ordinator Mel Kirby said the eight-person troupe hopes to learn some throat singing and drum dancing.

"It's a wonderful trading of talents," Kirby said.

Frobisher, which debuted to strong reviews in Calgary Jan. 27, is about Martin Frobisher's 16th century journeys to the Far North.

In the opera, Frobisher's journey is paralleled by a modern-day pair of artists and their struggle to make a film about the British explorer.

The eight members of the Emerging Artists Program represent a small part of the massive cast, performing excerpts from the opera, as well as a selection of other famous arias and duets.

Kirby said creators John Estacio and John Murrell were involved in devising the program that will travel North, by choosing appropriate pieces and drawing narrative links between them.

He said the Emerging Artist program consists of some of the country's brightest young vocal talents, on the cusp of their professional careers.

"We're trying to give young, promising singers who have completed their advanced training a leg up on the professional world," he said.

Kirby said many are experienced performers and instructors.

Nuqingaq said the Aqsarniit choir is particularly excited about the opportunity.

"It's good because they don't often meet professional singers, and definitely not opera singers," she said.

Canadian North paid for the group's airfare and accommodation.