Treemonisha

Opera Orlando invites you to embark on a life-affirming journey of family and community in a new production of Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha. A truly astounding work that resonates on many levels, it is the only opera in existence about the Reconstruction Era African-American experience written by a black man who actually lived through it, and this new production will celebrate the past but also reflect the present, highlighting black excellence and the strength, beauty, and wisdom of Black women, all led by stage director Roberta Emerson.

Joplin's tuneful score is a lively mix of ragtime, vaudeville, and grand opera, with a big helping of heart and soul. Treemonisha is a young woman who leads her community against the influence of conjurers, who prey on ignorance and superstition. Through Treemonisha’s confrontation with the conjurers the community realizes the value of education and Treemonisha leads them all into a bright and bountiful future of education, opportunity, and prosperity.

Treemonisha will be sung in English with English and Spanish supertitles and have a run time of approximately two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. The theater will be in a thrust configuration, with seating on three sides.