July 4, 2020
By David Salazar
Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha” first premiered as a concert
read-through in Harlem in 1910, and was not fully staged until 1972,
over fifty years after the composer’s death The work, described as “an
entirely new form of operatic art,” combines Wagnerian conventions of
opera with traditional African-American folk tales and music. Joplin,
writer of the score and libretto, may have created the opera to parallel
his own life and values, particularly the desire to learn and the idea
of education as freedom from ignorance.
“Treemonisha” was first revived by the Atlanta Symphony in
collaboration with the glee club of Morehouse College. Led by conductor
Robert Shaw, the 1972 performance succeeded in introducing Joplin’s
operas to a wider audience. Just a few years later, “Treemonisha”
premiered at the Houston Grand Opera and became a hit across American
stages.
Short Plot Summary
Joplin’s opera is the story of Treemonisha, the titular character and
a young woman living in a forest between the composer’s hometown of
Texarkana, Texas and the Red River of Arkansas. The piece begins with
the community beginning their day of work with folk songs. Treemonisha
finds herself under a sacred tree in the forest, a direct parallel to
the enchanted tree of “Die Walkure.”
Conjurers arrive to perform for the community and kidnap Treemonisha
at the end of the first act. The magic and superstition of the conjurers
throughout the opera are meant to directly contrast with the values of
Treemonisha, who is literate and insists on learning and logic.
Act two details the rescue of Treemonisha from the conjurers. Remus,
Treemonisha’s friend from their neighborhood, disguises himself as the
devil and scares away the conjurers. Treemonisha and Remus escape to a
nearby plantation, where the workers help guide their way home.
Here is a full production from Houston.
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