the book: A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar ibn Said.
Co-commissioned by Spoleto Festival USA, Carolina Performing Arts, San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, and Detroit Opera.
Creative/Crew
Conductor
Director
Choreographer
Designer
Set Designer(s)
Co-Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Projection Designer
Chorus Director
Assistant Conductor
Prompter
Musical Preparation
Assistant Director(s)
Stage Manager(s)
Assistant Stage Manager(s)
Dance Master
Fight Director
Technical Supervisor
Costume Supervisor
Hair and Makeup
Cast
Omar
Fatima, Omar’s Mother
Abdul, Omar’s brother
Abe
Amadou
Olufemi
Suleiman
Julie
Auctioneer
Taylor
Johnson
Owen
Eliza
Katie Ellen
Caller
Ancestral Figure
Slaveship Crewman 1/Slaver
Slaveship Crewman 2
Woman #1 (Act I.2)
Woman #2 (Act I.2)
Woman #3 (Act I.2)
Woman #4 (Act I.2)
Woman #1 (Act II.1)
Woman #2 (Act II.1)
Man #1 (Act I.2)
Man #2 (Act I.2)
Man #1 (Act II.1)
Man #3 (Act I.2)
Man #4 (Act I.2)
Man #2 (Act II.1)
Man in the crowd
Mary #1
Renty #1
Tess #1
Mary #2
Tess #2
John
Renty #2
Mary #3
Chorus Soprano Solo
Billy
Sally
Show Dates
Scenes
Media
Sponsors
This production is made possible, in part, by Marcia Barinaga & Corey Goodman.
This production is made possible, in part, by Bob Ellis.
This production is made possible, in part, by Louise Gund.
This production is made possible, in part, by Koret Foundation.
This production is made possible, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts.
John Kennedy’s appearance is made possible by a gift to the Conductors Fund by Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.
Jamez McCorkle's appearance is made possible by a gift to the Emerging Stars Fund by Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.
Taylor Raven's appearance is made possible by a gift to the Emerging Stars Fund by Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.
Brittany Renee’s appearance is made possible by a gift to the Emerging Stars Fund by Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.
Original commission and production made possible by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Ford Foundation, William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.
Legacy Commission
Sung in English and Arabic with English supertitles
Notes
Co-commissioned by Spoleto Festival USA, Carolina Performing Arts, San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, and Detroit Opera.
First performance: Spoleto Festival, 2022.
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Co-production by San Francisco Opera, the LA Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Originally co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA and Carolina Performing Arts at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
From the book: A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar ibn Said, translated with an introduction by Ala Alryyes.
The 11/11/2023 performance was livestreamed.
Cast Change: Chorus soprano soloist Angela Arnold is Woman #2 in Act II, replacing Chloe Vaught for the full run.
11/7/2023: The role of Man #2 in Act II was sung by basso cantante Earl Hazell replacing Wilford Kelly who was indisposed.
11/21/2023: The role of Woman #2 in Act 1 was sung by soprano Andrea Alderman, replacing Thalia Moore who is indisposed.
Full program, pdf, here: https://encorespotlight.com/program/san-francisco-opera-omar-2023/
Senegalese Villagers, Freed, and Enslaved people
SUPERNUMERARIES:
Jahla Love (child)
Remi Abidoye (child)
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Backstage with Matthew blog article “Text as Design: The Visual Narrative of Omar” by San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock:
https://www.sfopera.com/blog/backstage-with-matthew/2023/backstage-with…
“The opera—an artistic response to the text rather than a historical accounting of Omar’s life—represents the integration of many layers of language: of musical languages, spoken languages, written languages, visual languages.”