Organization

Spoleto Festival USA

Video

Video (+1)

Joshua Higgason

Conductor

Conductor (+1)

John Kennedy

Stage director

Kaneza Schaal

Costume designer

April M. Hickman

Micheline Russell-Brown

Lighting designer

Lighting designer (+1)

Pablo Santiago

Chorusmaster

Chorusmaster (+2)

John Keene

Tenor (+2)

Jamez McCorkle

Omar Ibn Said

Soprano (+1)

Brittany Renee

Julie Laquita

Bass-baritone (+3)

Daniel Okulitch

John Owen

Baritone (+1)

Norman Garrett

Omar's Brother

Tenor (+3)

Barry Banks

Auctioneer

Mezzo-soprano (+3)

Laura Krumm

Eliza

Set designer

Amy Rubin

Mezzo-soprano (+4)

Taylor Raven

Omar's Mother

LA Opera

Lyric Opera of Chicago

San Francisco Opera

Chorus

San Francisco Opera Chorus

Orchestra

San Francisco Opera Orchestra

Set designer (+1)

Christopher Myers

Mezzo-soprano (+2)

Rehanna Thelwell

Katie Ellen

Writing is the preservation of identity in the new opera Omar from Grammy award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens and composer Michael Abels. A true story of an indomitable faith enshrined in a two-hundred-year-old autobiography in an opera acclaimed by The New York Times as a “sweeping achievement.”

In the early 1800s, Islamic scholar Omar Ibn Said is forcibly taken from his village in West Africa and sold into slavery in Charleston, South Carolina. Attempting to flee, he is imprisoned in Fayetteville and taken to the plantation of another slaveholder, eager to convert him to Christianity. There Omar records his story in Arabic, transforming his world into an expansive canvas of text and faith, profoundly realized in Kaneza Schaal’s transcendent production.

English

Omar

San Francisco

United States

Omar Rhiannon Giddens

Staged

Opera

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 luminous score—composed by Rhiannon Giddens in collaboration with Michael Abels—incorporates distinctive West African traditions with traditional opera instrumentation.

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 in collaboration with 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.

For tickets and information go to www.LAOpera.org/Omar

Approved

Photos