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Luminato Festival | Obeah Opera
June 13, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:30 pm
One event on June 14, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 15, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 16, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 18, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 19, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 20, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 21, 2019 at 8:00 pm
One event on June 22, 2019 at 8:00 pm
Obeah Opera is a hand-clapping, foot-stomping, spirit-lifting, musical sensation. Steeped in Black music and sung entirely a cappella by a powerful all-female cast, Obeah Opera tells the story of the legendary Salem witch trials from the spellbinding perspective of the first woman accused, the young Caribbean slave Tituba.
In February 1692 the people of Salem, Massachusetts fell into a mass hysteria and paranoid state, which resulted in a massive witch hunt. Hundreds of people were arrested and tried for witchcraft, and over the course of a year 14 women, 5 men, and 2 dogs were executed for their supposed crimes. Although many operas, films, plays, and novels have been written about the event (most notably Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible), Tituba’s own story has never been told. Obeah Opera is a musical odyssey that offers a new take on the witch trials, slavery, and the operatic form itself.
The cast of 20 serves as both orchestra and vocal leads, as Obeah Opera redefines the traditional opera form away from its European roots, using an array of Black musical genres including spirituals, jazz, ska, Calypso, and traditional African and Caribbean folk. With an inter-disciplinary approach that incorporates musical theatre, opera, dance and Caribbean costumes, Obeah Opera is “an inspiring work. Uplifting, original, as athletic as it is musical, one can’t help but get swept up in the show’s infectious, refreshing spirit. A must see.” (Grammy Award-winner, Dan Hill)
Lead images feature: Aisha Nicholson, Arinea Hermans, Shiata Lewis, Teisha Smith-Gutherie, Nickeshia Garric, Nicole Brooks, Miranda Liverpool, Shelly Ann McLeod. Photo by Osato Erebor.
Tickets, here.
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