‘Emmett Till, A New American Opera’: To Premiere At A NYC College
A new Emmett Till theater project will have its world premiere in the coming weeks at John Jay College in New York City.
According to Playbill, Emmett Till, A New American Opera by playwright and librettist Clare Coss, will debut on March 23 with an encore performance on March 24 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre within John Jay College. Conducted by 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León, the production will focus on the murder of Till and delve into several themes surrounding social justice.
The opera will star mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford (Mamie Till), tenor Robert Mack (Emmett Till), mezzo-soprano Abigail Wright (Roanne Taylor), soprano Amanda Rose Austin (Carolyn Bryant), baritone Justin Ryan (Roy Bryant), contralto Karmesha Peake (Aunt Lizzy), and baritone Markell Reed (Maurice Wright).
Malcolm Merriweather sits as chorus master and Kyle Walker as the rehearsal pianist.
Emmett Till, A New American Opera is based on Coss’ award-winning 2013 play Emmett, Down in My Heart and is told through the lens of Roanne Taylor, a young white high school teacher in Drew, Mississippi, who is against segregation, Jim Crow laws and racial inequality she observes but stays silent to avoid conflict.
The new perspective reimagines the events around the murder of 14-year-old Till, a Black boy from Chicago who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
In addition to John Jay College, the production is co-presented by Opera Noire International, The Harlem Chamber Players, and Harlem Arts Alliance.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit EmmettTillOpera.com.
