Monday, February 11, 2008

Free to Sing: The Story of the First African American Opera Company

Free to Sing: The Story of the First African American Opera Company is a world premiere original Strathmore concert production about the heroic story of Washington D.C.’s “Colored American Opera Company,” the first black opera troupe in the United States. This performance will take place on Saturday, February 16, 2008, 8:00 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, Maryland.

Commissioned by Strathmore, the original script charts the personal advancement of some of Washington D.C.’s most prominent African-American individuals, as they use their musical talent to raise money for their church community and build schools for their children in the 1870s.
Free to Sing focuses on the musical accomplishments of the Opera Company with an introductory narrative, and features “Te Deum,” a recently discovered new John Philip Sousa work, and “Mass in C” by John Esputa. The evening will conclude with a rarely performed concert presentation of Julius Eichberg’s American operetta, The Doctor of Alcantara.

Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, MD 20852

Tickets: $21-$58

(301) 581-5100 or visit http://www.strathmore.org