Heralded as “an entirely new phase of musical art” when Scott Joplin played for its first performance in 1915, Treemonisha was rediscovered in the 1970s and went on to triumph on Broadway. Last seen in DC in 1976, the Washington Savoyards will present an all-new production of this “thoroughly American opera” for a new generation, under the direction of Michael J. Bobbitt.
The Washington Savoyards production sets this opera in a Louisiana bayou. Treemonisha is an educated young African American woman who denounces the superstitutions of her community. In retaliation, local conjurers kidnap her and take her into a swamp teeming with animals. Remus, her beau, rescues her at the last moment and they return home. A champion now of the community, Treemonisha triumphantly espouses education as the key to African American success.
Treemonisha by Scott Joplin
directed by Michael J. Bobbitt
For audiences ages 8 and up.
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