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by always saying yes and being open to trying new things. That flexibility won him the Fallujah commission. Dr. Charles Barber, City Opera Vancouver’s artistic director, says Stokes was chosen for his “gifted versatility” and “eclecticism” since the libretto demanded a composer who could write empathetically for both Western and Middle Eastern voices. He delivered with “admirable conviction and skill,” adds Barber, who also notes that he is “immensely collegial” and thus well-suited to opera, a highly collaborative art form. Tania Miller, music director of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, echoes this view, saying that Stokes was an immediate fit when the symphony hired him as a composer-in-residence several years ago. “Tobin is someone who the musicians respected immensely for his creativity, his professionalism, and his willingness to learn from and work with the musicians.” CREATIVITY, FLEXIBILITY Miller adds that the symphony benefited greatly from Stokes’ unique approach, including his idea to create an Inner Harbour Overture for the Symphony Splash concert, which debuted in 2008 and was performed again this past summer, blending sounds from the orchestra and the crowd with ringing church bells, the Carillon and the horn of the Coho ferry. Stokes uses that creativity in the operatic world. “It takes everything to do opera,” says Stokes. “It’s so satisfying in a big way because it ties together all these disparate routes I was on — it brings it all home.” For his own operas he writes both libretto and music, a rarity. “It’s really challenging and it’s really enjoyable because I can change either word or note at any point and so it’s a completely open way to create.” Which brings us back to Rattenbury, his opera that tells the tragic story of Victoria’s architectural hero who was driven from the city by social pressure and clubbed to death in England by his second wife’s lover, an 18-year-old chauffeur named Stoner. He’s writing the scene in which Alma, Rattenbury’s young wife, viewed as evil seducer and nymphomaniac by the voyeuristic Londoners who lined up overnight to get seats at the Old Bailey murder trial, commits suicide after Stoner is sentenced to hang. Stokes laughs — with what could be delight or a release of tension — and says, “It’s pretty heavy,” since he’s been working from published notes Alma wrote just before she stabbed herself. What intrigues him is not the outer story but the inner “why” of things. The deeper themes of power, youth, karma, and judgment have all captured his imagination and drive his writing.