OperaCréole brings lost opera pieces by Black composers to American stages

Once banned from opera houses during the Jim Crow era, rarely-seen works by American composers of color are finally gracing U.S. stages, thanks to two New Orleans-based mezzo-sopranos. In collaboration with Opera Lafayette, OperaCréole plans to stage the full 550-page production of Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane, believed to be the first full opera composed by a Black American and a piece that conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley calls “the most important piece of American music that no one has ever heard.” Priscilla Thompson brings us their story.Feb. 13, 2024