Organization

Spoleto Festival USA

Conductor

Kazem Abdullah

Stage director

Kaneza Schaal

Set designer

Amy Rubin

Costume designer

April M. Hickman

Micheline Russell-Brown

Video designer

Joshua Higgason

Singer

Tenor

Jamez McCorkle

Omar Ibn Said

Jacqueline Echols

Julie Laquita

Bass-baritone

Daniel Okulitch

John Owen

Baritone

Norman Garrett

Omar's Brother

Barry Banks

Auctioneer

Briana Hunter

Katie Ellen

Lighting designer

Pablo Santiago

Chorus master

Jeremy Frank

Choreographer

Kiara Benn

Assistant choreographer

Yusuf Nasir

Christopher Myers

Mezzo-soprano

Amanda Lynn Bottoms

Omar's Mother

Soprano

Deepa Johnny

Little Daughter

Ashley Faatoalia

Amadou

Cedric Berry

Olufemi

Patrick Blackwell

Suleiman

Alan Williams

Jermaine McGhee

Principal dancer

LA Opera

English

Omar

Los Angeles

United States

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Omar Giddens

Public

Private

Approved

Omar Ibn Said's life and Muslim faith are remembered and retold in this inspirational West Coast premiere inspired by his remarkable 1831 autobiography. The ...

In 1807, a 37-year-old scholar living in West Africa was captured and forced aboard a slave ship bound for Charleston, South Carolina. Omar Ibn Said's life and Muslim faith are remembered and retold in this inspirational West Coast premiere inspired by his remarkable 1831 autobiography (the only known surviving American slave narrative written in Arabic).

Set in the shifting darkness of memory and imagination, Omar follows his compelling journey from a peaceful life in his homeland to enslavement in a violent, foreign world. Lost in the wilderness of his thoughts and his stolen life, he's haunted by memories of his family and the people he encounters along the way. Through it all, he somehow remains true to himself and his faith, against all odds. The luminous score—composed by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels—incorporates distinctive West African traditions with traditional opera instrumentation.

Tenor Jamez McCorkle makes his company debut in the title role, with bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch in a double role as two very different slave masters. Norman Garrett makes his company debut as Omar's brother, with Barry Banks as the auctioneer and Jacqueline Echols as Julie, an enslaved woman who gives Omar the key to a better life.

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Co-Producer