- Opera in 1 Act for Children’s Chorus
- Commissioned and premiered by the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, May 12, 2010
Burry second commission for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, The Secret World of OG is the operatic adaptation of the well-known children’s book by Canadian icon Pierre Berton. The classic story of a group of siblings who venture into the dark subterranean world of the OGs to rescue their baby brother and cat has been a favourite with Canadian children since the sixties and features Berton’s own children as the protagonists.
The “borrowing nature” of the little green ogs gave Burry numerous opportunities to quote musical styles and the opera features, a pirate shanty, a rootin’-tootin’ cowboy song and even a 1960’s-James Bond inspired theme. The musical accompaniment of OG is provided by a “prepared-piano for four hands”. The piano strings were treated with a variety or metal and wooden objects to offer a wide range of colours and textures.
In 2016, Sarasota Opera commissioned a chamber music orchestration of the opera which has also been produced at Detroit Opera.
