question: Were Saint François d'Assise and Curlew River written by writers from the same country?
answer: no
context: Title: Brett Polegato
  Passage: Brett Polegato (born 1968 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada) is an operatic baritone.  In 1999 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Peter Niles in Levy's "Mourning Becomes Electra" followed by his La Scala debut in 2000 as Ned Keene in Britten's "Peter Grimes".  He is particularly known for his interpretation of the title role in Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande" which he has performed with many companies including the Bavarian State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Oper Leipzig, and Opéra National du Rhin among others.  Other European appearances include Ubalde in Gluck's "Armide" at Opéra de Nice, the title role in Monteverdi's "Orfeo" at Opéra d'Avignon, and Frère Lèon in Messaien's "Saint François d'Assise" at Opéra National de Paris.  He has sung numerous roles with Flanders Opera, including Guglielmo in Mozart's "Così fan tutte", Albert in Massenet's "Werther", and the Steward in Jonathan Dove's "Flight".  In his native Canada, Polegato has sung Papageno in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte", Figaro in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia", and Zurga in Bizet's "Les pêcheurs de perles" with Vancouver Opera.  In the United States, he has sung with New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre as well as making many concert appearances and recordings with American orchestras.  He made his Seattle Opera debut in 2005 as Henry Miles in Jake Heggie's "The End of the Affair" and returned to the company in 2007 as Orestes in Gluck's "Iphigenia in Tauris".
  Title: St Bartholomew's Church, Orford
  Passage: The Church of St Bartholomew is the parish church of the town of Orford, England.  A medieval church, dating from the fourteenth century, with reconstructions in the nineteenth and twentieth century, it is a Grade I listed building.  In addition to its listing, the church is notable as the location for the first performances of four of the works of the composer Benjamin Britten: "Noye's Fludde", "Curlew River", "The Burning Fiery Furnace" and "The Prodigal Son".
  Title: Curlew River
  Passage: Curlew River – A Parable for Church Performance (Op. 71) is an English music drama with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer.  The first of Britten's three 'Parables for Church Performance', the work is based on the Japanese "noh" play "Sumidagawa" (Sumida River) of Juro Motomasa] (1395–1431), which Britten saw during a visit to Japan and the Far East in early 1956.  Beyond the "noh" source dramatic material, Britten incorporated elements of "noh" treatment of theatrical time into this composition.  "Curlew River" marked a departure in style for the remainder of the composer's creative life, paving the way for such works as "Owen Wingrave", "Death in Venice", and the Third String Quartet.
  Title: Holy Family
  Passage: The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.  Veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded a Confraternity.
  Title: Saint François d'Assise
  Passage: Saint François d'Assise is an opera in three acts and eight scenes by French composer and librettist Olivier Messiaen, written from 1975 to 1983.  It concerns Saint Francis of Assisi, the title character, and displays the composer's devout Catholicism.  The world première was given by the Paris Opera at the Palais Garnier on 28 November 1983.
  Title: City Opera of Vancouver
  Passage: City Opera of Vancouver is a professional chamber opera company in Vancouver, Canada, founded in 2006.  Its past productions include the premiere of a 'new' Mozart chamber opera, 'The Lost Operas of Mozart'; the world premiere of "Pauline", a chamber opera with an original libretto by Margaret Atwood; the commission and workshop premiere of 'Fallujah', with music by Tobin Stokes and libretto by Heather Raffo, and supported by the Annenberg Foundation of Los Angeles; the Canadian event premiere of Sumidagawa and Curlew River in double bill; and, the British Columbia premiere of Viktor Ullmann's "The Emperor of Atlantis".
  Title: St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, Laayoune
  Passage: The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral (Spanish: "Catedral de San Francisco de Asís de El Aaiún" ; French: "Cathédrale de Saint François d'Assise" ) or just Spanish Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church that serves as the cathedral church of the apostolic prefecture of Western Sahara ("Praefectura Apostolica de Sahara Occidentali").  It is located in the city of Laayoune ("El Aaiún"), Western Sahara, a territory that is in dispute between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
  Title: The Prodigal Son (Britten)
  Passage: The Prodigal Son is an opera by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by William Plomer.  Based on the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son, this was Britten's third "parable for church performance", after "Curlew River" and "The Burning Fiery Furnace".  Britten dedicated the score to Dmitri Shostakovich.
  Title: St. Francis of Assisi Church, Baie Lazare
  Passage: The St. Francis of Assisi Church (French: "Église de Saint François d’Assise" ) or simply Church of St. Francis, is the name given to a religious building belonging to the Catholic Church and is located in the town of Baie Lazare, an administrative district of the first order on the island of Mahé in the archipelago and African country of Seychelles.
  Title: Chris Laurence
  Passage: Chris Laurence was born in London and studied at the Guildhall School of Music.  He has maintained a dual career in both jazz and classical music.  In the classical world he was principal double bass with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra until 1995, playing on many of their famous recordings ranging from the film “Amadeus” to Benjamin Britten’s “Curlew River”.  Jazz artists he has recorded with include trombonist J.J.Johnson, Tony Coe, Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Clark Terry, Johnny Mathis and Lena Horne.  His current recordings are John Surman’s “The Spaces in Between”, Kenny Wheelers “The Long Waiting” and “Songs For Quintet” on the ECM Label and Norma Winstone’s “Manhattan in the Rain”.  He also spends a lot of time recording music for TV, Film and Albums, most notably “Leaving Las Vegas”, Ken Loach’s “Looking For Eric”, “The Constant Gardener”, Howard Shores’ score for “Hugo” and most recently was featured on the sound track of Mike Leigh’s “Mr Turner”.  In 2007 he recorded a CD with his own jazz quartet titled “New View”, released on the “Basho” label along with Frank Ricotti (vibes), John Parricelli (Guitar), Martin France (Drums) and featuring Norma Winstone (Vocals).  As well as jazz and classical music, Chris has also featured on albums with many stars including Elton John, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joni Mitchell, David Gilmour, Michel Legrand and guitarist John Williams.
citations: Saint François d'Assise Curlew River