Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha
A creative team of black women composers and theater artists reimagines Scott Joplin’s visionary opera as a work reborn for our times.
Stanford Live will commission and present the April 2020 world premiere of a reimagining of Scott Joplin’s 1911 opera Treemonisha. The collaborating artists will bring an entirely new libretto and expanded musical language to the piece, honoring Joplin’s vision while creating a work reborn for our times. In Treemonisha’s new story, an African-descended community has been split in the aftermath of slavery. One side remained on the plantations, endured slavery, and found solace in the church. Others escaped, and from their forest hiding places, rekindled spiritual practices carried to the Americas from Africa. Treemonisha, part of a plantation community, also flees, into a painful journey toward self-knowledge. Ultimately, she undertakes to mend the torn fabric of her two communities, and for her efforts is elected their leader.
Media Highlights
Composers Concordance ‘1984’ featuring CompCord Ensemble As part of the 12th Annual CompCord Festival –CompCord @ 40–
LOFT393 393 Broadway, 2nd Floor, NY, NY 10013
The Weight of Light
Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607
Glass Menagerie Chorus “The Road Home”
Church of the Holy Apostles 296 9th Avenue (at 28th Street) New York, NY 10001