In Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, many of the musical worlds Black people occupy collide to make something thrilling and distinct. The sound is hybrid. The instruments are European and African. The audience is encouraged to embrace the music in any way they see fit! Cheer, talk back, applaud – it’s all good.

This is an opera for everyone.

As author Naomi André puts it: “Opera is an art form that has potential for being a site of critical inquiry, political activism and social change… Opera has become a space where Black people are writing themselves into history…. Unlike the audiences for the very first opera performances in seventeenth century northern Italy… the audiences I envision… are vast…”