Omar (opera)
Omar | |
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Opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels | |
Librettist | Rhiannon Giddens |
Language | English |
Based on | the autobiography of Omar ibn Said |
Premiere | May 27, 2022 |
Omar is an American opera, composed by
The opera's plot loosely follows the life of Omar ibn Said, and is based on his autobiography A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar ibn Said, written in 1831, mostly in Arabic. It is the only known memoir written by a slave in America in Arabic.[1] The work was translated into English by Ala Alryyes and published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 2011.[2]
Omar won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Background
Omar ibn Said was born and raised in Futa Toro, an Islamic state located in the part of West Africa that is now Senegal. His family was wealthy and he was highly educated as a Muslim scholar. He was captured by slavers in 1807 at the age of 37 and was taken to America to be sold in the Charleston slave market. Initially purchased by a harsh master, he escaped after two years and traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina. There he was captured and jailed, but ultimately sold to planter James Owen. Owen was impressed by ibn Said's education, since very few slaves even knew how to read and write. Owen attempted to convert him to Christianity and provided him with a Bible and other books. He also urged him to write his memoirs, which he did in 1831. He wrote at least thirteen other Arabic documents, mostly on history and theology. Ibn Said lived until his mid-90s and died in 1864, still enslaved.[3]
Synopsis
The opera, in two acts, follows ibn Said's life loosely, as Giddens maintained that her libretto was only one possible telling of a life about which so much is still unknown. She wrote in the program for the premiere: "Who was Omar? We will never really know. This Omar is merely one of a thousand different possible interpretations of his writings and what we know of his life."[4] Act One contains five scenes. The first shows him in his village along with his mother Fatima, a spiritual matriarch of the village. His brother Abdul warns them that slavers are nearby and urges them to flee, but too late; the slavers overrun the village, capturing Omar and killing his mother. Scene two is aboard a slave ship, where several prisoners describe their own situation and pray to survive the voyage. Scene three is set in the Charleston slave market, where Omar meets a slave for sale named Julie. Omar's kufi, a Muslim cap, reminds her of her father, and she retrieves his kufi and keeps it. She is planning to escape and return to a gentler master in Fayetteville, and urges Omar to do the same if he can. He observes an auction where a child is separated from its parents despite the father's pleading. In a vision, Omar's mother tells him to cover for Julie so she can escape. He creates a distraction and she escapes. He is then sold to an abusive master named Johnson. Scene four is on Johnson's plantation, where Omar is sent to pick cotton in the fields. In scene five, he dreams of his mother urging him to escape, which he does, intending to go to Fayetteville.
Act Two also contains five scenes. In the first scene Omar, who was caught, is imprisoned in the Fayetteville County Jail, where he has covered the walls of his cell with Arabic prayers and verses from the Quran. The townspeople are intrigued by him and his writing. The plantation owner Owen is urged by his daughter Eliza to buy Omar. Owen talks to Omar about his background and thinks he might be able to convert him to Christianity. In the second scene, Omar is introduced to the other slaves, including Julie who has returned to the plantation and is impressed that Omar followed her advice. She gives him back his kufi, singing "My daddy wore a cap like yours."[5] Scene three takes place in a study room that Owen has given to Omar. Owen gives him a Christian Bible written in Arabic. Scene four finds Omar under a tree reading his new Bible and praying to Allah to understand the meaning of his life journey. He recites Psalm 23, reinterpreting it from the point of view of an enslaved Muslim. In scene five Julie urges Omar to write a book. So does the spirit of Fatima, telling him to write about his experiences and his faith. The company joins Omar in a song in praise of Allah.[6]
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast (May 27, 2022)[a] |
---|---|---|
Omar | Tenor | Jamez McCorkle |
Fatima | Mezzo Soprano | Cheryse McLeod Lewis |
Abdul / Abe | Baritone | Michael Redding |
Julie | Soprano | Laquita Mitchell |
Auctioneer / Taylor | Tenor | Adam Klein |
Katie Ellen / The Caller | Mezzo Soprano | Catherine Anne Daniel |
Johnson / Owen | Baritone | Malcolm MacKenzie |
Eliza | Soprano | Rebecca Jo Loeb |
Performance history
The opera was commissioned in 2019 by the
Reception
Joshua Barone of
Omar won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music.[17] The Pulitzer committee described the work as "an innovative and compelling opera about enslaved people brought to North America from Muslim countries, a musical work that respectfully represents African as well as African American traditions, expanding the language of the operatic form while conveying the humanity of those condemned to bondage."[18]
Notes
- ^ Conducted by John Kennedy
References
- ^ Cooper, Michael (June 10, 2019). "Rhiannon Giddens Is Writing an Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- OL 25008284M.
- ^ "Omar ibn Said, b. 1770?". Documenting the American South. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ a b "Spoleto Festival USA 2022 Program": p. 20. Spoleto Festival USA.
- ^ a b c Tsioulcas, Anastasia (June 7, 2022). "The debut of 'Omar,' a thoroughly American opera". NPR. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ "Omar Program: page P4, Synopsis". Los Angeles Opera.
- ^ Hawes, Jennifer Berry (May 27, 2021). "Opera about Omar ibn Said will debut at 2022′s Spoleto Festival USA". Post and Courier. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ a b Barone, Joshua (May 30, 2022). "At the Spoleto Festival, Opera Is an Act of Liberation". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "Wells Fargo, Spoleto Festival USA share the story of 'Omar'". Wells Fargo Stories. July 13, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Cristi, A. A. (December 1, 2022). "Jamez McCorkle Brings His Acclaimed Lead Performance To Boston In Rhiannon Giddens And Michael Abel's OMAR". Broadway World. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ Winkler, Matthew (May 11, 2023). "Pulitzer Winner Omar Looks Towards Opera's Future". Boston Musical Intelligencer. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
- ^ Crawford, Caroline (November 8, 2023). "Review: San Francisco Opera'S Extraordinary 'Omar' A Bold New American Work". SFGate. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- WBUR. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Paulk, James L. (June 3, 2022). "Review: Spoleto Festival debuts the profound and moving new opera 'Omar'". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ McNulty, Charles (October 23, 2022). "Commentary: Redemption, writ large, in L.A. Opera's divine 'Omar'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Ginell, Richard S. (October 25, 2022). "Omar Proves to Be a Profoundly Moving Spectacle at LA Opera". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ Barone, Joshua (May 8, 2023). "Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels Win the Pulitzer Prize for Music". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Pulitzer Prizes". Pulitzer.org. Retrieved May 9, 2023.