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Louis Riel by Harry Somers - Canadian Opera

Canadian Opera

Stamp Info

Name Value
Date of Issue February 4, 2017
Year 2017
Quantity 360,000
Denomination
PERMANENTâ„¢ (P).
Current monetary value: $0.92.
Perforation or Dimension 32 mm x 32 mm
Series Canadian Opera
Series Time Span 2017
Printer Colour Innovations
Postal Administration Canada

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Stamp Price Values

Condition Name Avg Value
M-NH-VF
Mint - Never Hinged - Very Fine Only available to paid users
U-VF
Used - Very Fine Only available to paid users
* Notes about these prices:
  • They are not based on catalogue values but on current dealer and auction listings. The reason for this is that catalogues tend to over-value stamps.
  • They are average prices. The actual value of your stamp may be slightly above or below the listed value, depending on the overall condition of your stamp. Use these prices as a guide to determine the approximate value of your stamps.

Stamp Supplies on Amazon

Layouts

Booklet of 10 stamps

Quantity Produced - 130,000
Current Purchase Price: Only available to paid users
Original Purchase Price: $8.50
Dimension: 32 mm x 32 mm
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colours
Tagging: 2 sides (top and bottom)
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Souvenir sheet of 5 stamps

Quantity Produced - 100,000
Current Purchase Price: Only available to paid users
Original Purchase Price: $4.25
Dimension: 175 mm x 60 mm
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colours
Gum Type: PVA
Tagging: 2 sides (top and bottom)
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Souvenir sheet Official First Day Cover

Quantity Produced - 9,000
Current Purchase Price: Only available to paid users
Original Purchase Price: $5.25
Cancellation Location: Calgary AB
Dimension: 190 mm x 112 mm
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About Stamp

Bold, exuberant and unmistakably creative, the design of this stamp issue on Canadian Opera most assuredly mirrors the art form it reflects.

Canadians have long considered traditional opera as entertainment and a connection to European culture. However, it took until 1967 for Canada to produce an opera it could call its own. Commissioned to celebrate the country’s centennial, Louis Riel – composed by Harry Somers based on a libretto by Mavor Moore with Jacques Languirand – romanticizes the life of the legendary Métis leader. This year, to mark the work’s 50th anniversary, it is being revived by Toronto’s Canadian Opera Company. Filumena – another grand homegrown offering, composed by John Estacio with a libretto by John Murrell – tells the true story of an Italian immigrant who was the only woman to be hanged in Alberta. Calgary Opera is to stage it once again, this time in early 2017.

The stamp issue also sings the praises of three talented Canadians: world-renowned performers bass-baritone Gerald Finley, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka and director Irving Guttman, known as the father of opera in western Canada.

The creative leaps taken in the style of lettering and colours used in these first-ever stamps by creative director Gary Beelik and designer Kristine Do of Toronto’s Parcel Design and illustrator Peter Strain, reflect the team’s experience in book cover and poster design. According to Beelik, since the dark, dramatic background played such a big part in the overall design of the continuous, five-stamp souvenir sheet, the challenge was to make it also work for the booklet, where the background was not so apparent. “I wanted to utilize all of the real estate, create one flowing element that would connect all the pieces, and depict continuity without sacrificing individuality,” he says. “Against that powerful background, the collage illustrations, speech bubbles and clippings allowed us to do justice to what was a complex subject.”

Creators

Design: Parcel. Illustration: Peter Strain. Printer: Colour Innovations.

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