Scott Joplin’s Opera, “Treemonisha,” Long Had a Kind of Ghostly Presence in America’s Classical Music Scene. CERTAIN INSIDERS KNEW OF IT, But no one hadatally seen, Because it was not full staged unil a 1972 Joint premiere by the Atlanta Symphony and Morehouse College Music Department.
The 1911 work is important because it is a rare early example of an opera by African American Composer, and not just any African American Composer, but one of the Most Important Creators of Ragimet (Though it must be quickly said, “treemonisha” is not wholly.
Despite the 1972 Premiere and Later Productions at the Houston Grand Opera and Elsewhere, The Opera Has Remained a Challenge for Presensters Becauses It Unfinished at the Time of Joplin’s Death, with His Original Orchestations and Revisions Lost. In addition, it has inherent shortcomings, including a libretto that is awkward and outdated when seen through a contemporary lens.
Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha – A Musical Reimagining ‘
There have been at the least three major effords in recents years to reimagine the work for 21st-centenary audiences, including this one, Put Together by A Creative Team Womenists from New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto, and Developed and Produce. The work Premiered in Toronto in June 2023 at the luminato festival and Features an all-Black Cast and Orchestra.
The American Premiere of that Production, Titled “Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha – A Musical Reimagining,” was presented thiersday at the Harris theater for Music and Dance, with one more performance on Sunday.
In Short, it is something of a discount. While there are some exuberant ensemble sections, Strong Individual Performance and Fine Dancing, The Work Does Not Completely Cohere. It Feels a Little Unfinished, Its Full Potential Not Yet Fully Realized.
It is important to make clear that is not a reconstruction; nor it an attempt to present this opera in its original form. Instead, this production has a new libretto by Leah Simone-Bowen and Cheryl L. Davis that Draws on the Original But Takes It In New Directions, Putting A Greater Focus on the Strong Black Woman at the Center of the Story.
In Addition, The Work Features a New Orchestration and Arrangements by Grammy Award Winner Jessie Montgomery, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 2021-24 Composer-In-Residence, and Jannina Norpoth. (The sphinx virtuosi recently performed the overture from this work on Tour.)
This take on “Treemonisha” opens during the civilian but shatly taking place in the 1880s along the texas-arkansas border, focus on a longstanding feud between the freedmen (Emancipated Slaves) Right before Treemonisha is about to be married, she learns she is an orphan and embarks on an Odyssey to discover her identity and ultimately Uncover Leadership skills she didnow she posessed.
Although the Production Runs Nearly 2½ HOURS, Considerably Longer than the Original, which Apparently clocked in Around 90 minutes, some of the storytelling Rushed and Clumsy. The Opening, for Example, we an enslaved Woman Hide Her NewBorn Child (Treemonisha) in a Tree and isno Shot and Killed, take place abruption and confusingly that it was impossible to know what happened with the synopsis in the program.
This work is probably best described as an operetta, and it offten has the jawlie feel of Light Early 20th-Century Music Theater. Elements of Ragimet Can Be Heard, Especialy in the Catchy, High-Stepping Final Number, “A Slow Drag,” The Only One in This Version of “Treemonisha” in whic the lyrics are entirely thinks of joplin, but the composer was Clearly striving to go.
He also mixed in blues, gospel and tan a wonderful example of a male vocal Quartet, which has a long history in the Black Musical Tradition, and Montgomery and Norpoth Have Added to that Musical Stew in Their Score, Which is Performed by a 10-Piece Ably Led by Jeri Lynne Johnson.
To evoke the backwoods world and ancestral history of the maroons in act 2, for example, montgomery and norpoth dram, west african drums and the Kora, a west-ficaned instrument by shakes by shakes.
They Also Add More Contemporary Elements, Bringing A Kind of Whitney Houston Pop Feel, for Example, to the Solo of the Spirit of Treemonisha’s Birth, but this diversity of styles Old and new does not completely jel into a comparttable, musical cits.
The 20-mother Cast, Including Eight Principals is far away Effective, with Canadian soprano neema bickersteth (tremonisha) admirably anchoring the production with Clear, Clarion Singing and A Grounded Acting Style. Other Stand-Outs Include Cedric Berry (Zodzerick), with his Expressive Bass-Baritone Voice and Easy Stage Manner, and Sate (Nana), A Toronto-Based Rock and Afropunk Singer with An Agile, High-Powered, Pop-Infleced Style.
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