What happens when the affairs of a Mennonite colony in Mexico are placed centre stage, literally?

What do renowned opera artists think of our colony brethren? How does the world see us when we don’t control the story?

Broadcaster and classical singer Nolan Kehler tackles these questions as he journeys to the heart of New York City’s avant-garde opera community to discover the unexpected value that secular artists find in the stories of traditionalist Mennonites.

Kehler says: “I was haunted by a sense of unease that this culture—my culture, for all intents and purposes—was being portrayed by those who might judge its uprightness and slow movement as the wrong way to live and conduct oneself, especially in New York City which moves at a blistering speed.”

What he found, instead, surprised him

Starting at the opening night of a Brooklyn opera company’s rendition of Silent Light, the acclaimed film set on a Mennonite colony in Mexico and featuring Miriam Toews, Kehler offers a five-part podcast that looks at pop culture engagement with traditionalist Mennonite culture.