Tonia Evans Cianciulli Premieres “Nightingale of the North,” a Love Track to Newfoundland’s First Opera Star
Toronto-based, Newfoundland-born songstress Tonia Evans Cianciulli returns to her roots this August to debut her highly effective new single, “Nightingale of the North” — a hovering tribute to Georgina Stirling, Newfoundland’s first worldwide opera singer. The only arrives July 17, 2025, simply forward of a deeply significant sequence of dwell occasions and performances throughout St. John’s and Twillingate from August 1–10.
Written in the course of the stillness of the pandemic, “Nightingale of the North” is greater than a tune—it’s a sacred providing to Stirling’s life, legacy, and spirit.
“I dreamed of her taking my hand,” Tonia shares, referencing a vivid, religious encounter that guided her by writing The Coronary heart’s Obsession—a co-authored biography of Stirling together with her grandfather, Newfoundland historian Calvin D. Evans. “That dream felt like a passing of the torch. I’ve been holding it shut ever since.”
The tune options haunting alto flute by MusicNL Award-winner Rozalind MacPhail, whose emotive tone mirrors the voice of the Nightingale herself. Accompanying Tonia on guitar is Jesse Fegelman, including heat and grounding to the ballad’s ethereal high quality. The monitor was produced, recorded, blended, and mastered by Dima Graziani, whose textured manufacturing brings a timeless and cinematic environment to this heartfelt work. Newfoundland poet Vaughn Harbin collaborated with Tonia on the lyrics, additional enriching this loving homage.
In verse after verse, Tonia channels Stirling’s bittersweet story:
“Her candle sparkles within the jewelled gentle;
Because the Nightingale sings on by the night time.
Although her voice is stilled, I’ll carry it on.”
A lifelong interpreter of Newfoundland’s musical heritage, Tonia has made it her mission to protect and elevate voices which have lengthy gone unheard. She’s carried out with the Toronto Live performance Orchestra, Cambridge Symphony, and Casa Loma Symphony, and was just lately featured by CBC for her work revitalizing Newfoundland’s people traditions. Her previous releases embody Bravery, Churchyard Roses, and She’s Just like the Swallow—each a testomony to her deeply private and poetic method to songwriting.
Tonia’s journey goes past music. A registered psychotherapist (qualifying), youngsters’s writer, and founding father of the non-profit Want Arts, she has devoted her life to serving to others heal by creativity. Her e book Flick Your Coronary heart-Mild On helps youngsters’s emotional wellness, with illustrations by her daughter Sophia. Via each medium, Tonia embodies the message she now sings: that artwork and reminiscence are bridges between generations.
This August, Tonia will carry Nightingale of the North to life in a sequence of heartfelt performances and ceremonies—full with Newfoundland classics, authentic songs, and the general public unveiling of long-lost watercolour portraits of Georgina Stirling by artist Sylvia Ficken. These occasions mark the ninetieth anniversary of Stirling’s passing and provide a uncommon second to assemble in celebration of a girl whose voice as soon as rang out from Twillingate to Italy—and nonetheless echoes immediately.
2025 Newfoundland Tour Dates:
Twillingate, NL
• August 9 – 11:00 AM – Twillingate Museum – Guide Signing
• August 9 – 4:00 PM – St. Peter’s Church – a hundred and eightieth Anniversary Celebration with Hymns, Opera, and Beloved Music
• August 10 – 11:00 AM – St. Peter’s Cemetery – Flower Ceremony Honouring Georgina Stirling
• August 10 – 5:00 PM – Blue Barrel Gallery – Folks Favourites and Extra, with particular visitor Adam Baxter on guitar
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