The first Lingít opera in recorded history debuts this Friday in Juneau at the Thunder Mountain Middle School auditorium.
KTOO published several stories in anticipation of the opera, compiled in this post:
Tongass Voices: Ed Littlefield on composing a Lingít opera
Shaakindustoow Ed Littlefield is a Lingít composer and musician from Sitka. For the past three years, he’s been a part of a team composing what will be the first full opera in the Lingit language. It’s about the Battle of Sitka in the early 1800s.
Littlefield composed the music and Juneau-born musician Rory Stitt arranged it, assigning pieces to different instruments.
The Juneau Symphony will perform the opera’s overture, titled “Kutulagaaw,” for the first time this weekend. The opera itself premieres in September.
In this story you’ll hear samples of Littlefield’s compositions.
Listen:
Tongass Voices: Playwright Vera Starbard on writing a Lingít Opera
T’set Kwei Vera Starbard is an Emmy-nominated writer who has written six plays and multiple episodes of shows like Molly of Denali and Alaska Daily.
Starbard is the librettist for Ḵutulagaaw — an opera about the 1802 battles between Lingít people and Russian invaders in Southeast Alaska. That means she wrote the script, which language teacher X̱’unei Lance Twitchell translated, and composer Ed Littlefield put to music.
The production premiers at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Friday Sept. 11. The show runs through Sept. 20.
Starbard says the idea came from Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Rosita Worl.
Listen:
‘Ḵutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles’ – A preview of the first Tlingit opera in recorded history
Juneau Afternoon recorded live on Wednesday, September 1, 2026
- Juneau Afternoon featuring a preview of the first Tlingit opera in recorded history: “Ḵutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles” presented by Sealaska Heritage Institute in partnership with Perseverance Theatre.
- Segment One: The Seed with President of SHI Dr. Rosita Worl, Librettist Vera Starbard, and Perseverance Artistic Director Leslie Ishii.
- Segment Two: The Creation with Librettist Vera Starbard, Translator Dr. X’unei Lance Twitchell, Composer Ed Littlefield, and Orchestrator Rory Stitt
- Segment Three: The Production with Associate Director Xáalnook Erin Tripp, Conductor Ed Littlefield, and cast member Sovereign Bill.
