(
Patrick Quigley, conductor
Featuring:
Chauncey Packer, Tenor
Jonathan Woody, Baritone
Lindsey Reynolds, Soprano
Kenneth Kellogg, Bass
Mary Elizabeth Williams, Soprano
Joshua Conyers, Baritone
Edmond Dédé- Morgiane
DURATION: Approximately 150 minutes
Preconcert talk: 5 p.m., Williams Research Center–410 Chartres Street
This event is free and open to the public.
This historic composition remains the earliest known surviving full-length opera written by a Black American composer. Lauded for works that transformed some of France’s most popular stages, Dédé packed a variety of musical genres into Morgiane,which has remained a hidden gem for over a century and yet to be heard—until now.
Morgiane tells a tale of vengeance, truth, and reconciliation that begins when a young couple’s wedding day is disrupted by the sultan’s desire for the bride. When the bride’s family seeks revenge, a shocking revelation comes to light, leading to a path of forgiveness.
About Musical Louisiana:
Musical Louisiana: America’s Cultural Heritage is an annual free concert series co-presented by the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Founded by Alfred E. Lemmon, the longtime director of HNOC’s Williams Research Center, Musical Louisiana is intended to be both a concert for music lovers and an educational experience for students. It is broadcast on the radio and streamed live. For this17th edition of the series, HNOC and the LPO have partnered with Opera Créole, a company dedicated to bringing restorative justice to American opera by presenting compositional voices of New Orleans’s 19th-century community of free people of color.
