Frederick Douglass (Moore opera)

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Frederick Douglass is a full-length opera written and composed by Dorothy Rudd Moore. It is 180 minutes in duration and consists of three acts. [1] The world premiere took place in 1985 at City College of New York's Aaron Davis Hall. [2] The opera was commissioned by Opera Ebony. [3]

Moore expressed that she chose to write the opera because Frederick Douglass had always interested her. [4] She researched his life, wrote the libretto, the composition and the orchestration for the work, which took eight years to complete. [4] The opera is based on his biography, and is less of a dramatic work than a "series of musical meditations on love, death, religion, political oppression and eventual deliverance." [2]

The plot of the opera revolves around Douglass's second marriage, the Freedman's Savings Bank collapse and his mission to Haiti. [5] Moore's music contains elements of nineteenth-century melodies and Haitian folk music. [5] The opera has a mixed-race cast and includes a ballet. [4]

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References

  1. "Frederick Douglass, An Opera in 3 Acts". American Composers Alliance. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 Page, Tim (30 June 1985). "Opera World Premier of 'Frederick Douglass'". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  3. Smith, Jessie Carney; Bracks, Lean'tin; Wynn, Linda T., eds. (2015). The Complete Encyclopedia of African American History. Visible Ink Press. ISBN   9781578595846.
  4. 1 2 3 Cheatham, Wallace (1997). Dialogues on Opera and the African-American Experience. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 70–71. ISBN   0810831473.
  5. 1 2 Griffel, Margaret Ross (2013). Operas in English: A Dictionary (Revised ed.). Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 183. ISBN   9780810883253.