About This Little Light of Mine
This Little Light of Mine is a one-act opera that
dramatizes the story of Fannie Lou Hamer, a former sharecropper who rose
to national prominence at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. In
the opera, adopted daughter Dorothy Jean Hamer tells how Fannie Lou and
her husband ‘Pap’ took in foster children as their own; how the
injustices of the Jim Crow laws emboldened Fannie to demand the right to
vote for African-Americans; and how Fannie shook the political world
during “Freedom Summer” by helping to found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Describing to the Convention Credentials Committee her harrowing story
of harassment, arrest and beating by the police, Fannie Lou Hamer
pointedly asked: “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of
the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks
because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent
human beings, in America?” This Little Light of Mine is in development as part of the Opera for All Voices initiative fostered by the Santa Fe Opera and its consortium partners.
About the Filming
Among the many cancellations of 2020 was the fall workshop of This Little Light of Mine. The workshop
will now proceed and be filmed, observing state and federally
recommended COVID-safe practices, on Monday, June 14 at the Kentucky
Opera in Louisville, Kentucky.
About Juneteenth
June 19 marks Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the
emancipation of those who were enslaved in the United States. It is
commemorated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union
Army general Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in the state of
Texas. Shares music director Jeri Lynne Johnson,
“Every time I step on the podium, it’s activism. Every time the
orchestra is seated, every time an artist of color appears on stage,
that is activism.”
About the Creative Team
Chandler Carter……….Composer
Diana Solomon-Glover……….Librettist
Beth Greenberg……….Director
Jeri Lynne Johnson……….Music Director
Everett McCorvey……….Chorus Master
Chandler Carter’s
work focuses on historical stories that cross boundaries of race and
power. In addition to works for the stage, Mr. Carter has composed over
50 songs and numerous choral, chamber and orchestral pieces which have
been performed internationally by distinguished recitalists, choirs and
ensembles.
Diana Solomon-Glover’s
career and talents have been showcased on the operatic stage, in
concert, oratorio, recital, musical theater, cabaret and on radio and
television across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and
in Central America, and have long served humanitarian and social
efforts. In 2001, Ms. Solomon-Glover created the role of Winnie Mandela
in the premiere of American composer Chandler Carter’s No Easy Walk to Freedom, an opera based upon the life of South African President, Nelson Mandela.
Beth Greenberg
has more than 25 years of experience producing, directing and managing
live, large-scale concert and theatrical productions in both indoor and
outdoor venues. Ms. Greenberg is renowned for her work with the New York
City Opera and has staged world premieres and traditional works for
Opera Colorado, Fort Worth Opera and the Phoenicia Voice Festival, among
other U.S. companies.
Jeri Lynne Johnson is heralded as one of today’s leading female conductors. Maestra Johnson established her own orchestra in Philadelphia, the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, to serve as a model for the 21st-century American orchestra. Described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as
“first-class on every level,” Black Pearl’s musicians have trained at
leading music conservatories around the globe and combine artistic
excellence with cultural diversity and innovative community engagement.
Under Maestra Johnson’s leadership, the Black Pearl has received
numerous grants and awards including a record-breaking three prestigious
Knight Foundation Arts Challenge grants.
Chorus Master Everett McCorvey is a tenor soloist, conductor and professor of voice. Mr. McCorvey is also the founder and music director of the American Spiritual Ensemble,
the director and executive producer of University of Kentucky Opera
Theatre, the artistic director of the National Chorale and the president
of Global Creative Connections.
About the Cast
Nicole Joy Mitchell……….Fannie Lou Hamer
Aundi Marie Moore……….Dorothy Jean Hamer
Heather Hill……….June Johnson/SNCC Worker
The role of Fannie Lou Hamer is performed by powerhouse contralto Nicole Joy Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell is a native of Brooklyn, New York where she sang the world premiere of Songs from the F Train and is a frequent concert soloist with The Walt Whitman Project in Brooklyn, New York.
Aundi Marie Moore sings the role of Dorothy Jean Hamer. Ms. Moore proudly hails from Chesapeake, Virginia and is a former member of the Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. She is celebrated as the 2015 winner of the American Prize in Vocal Performance and the 2016 Bronze Medalist at the American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, Georgia.
The roles of June Johnson and SNCC Worker are presented by soprano Heather Hill.
Ms. Hill’s career encompasses appearances in opera, oratorio, musical
theater, television and film. She recently performed with the Broadway
production of The Phantom of the Opera and the Broadway revival of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Other recent performances include the New York premiere of Gloria by Robert Harris at Alice Tully Hall, and performances of Carmina Burana and the Lord Nelson Mass at Carnegie Hall.
Interested parties may watch for free on the Kentucky Opera’s YouTube page.
About Kentucky Opera
Kentucky
Opera was founded in 1952 and designated the State Opera of Kentucky in
1982. Its mission is to enrich and engage its community through
spectacular music, creative storytelling and the thrill of the human
voice. General Director/CEO Barbara Lynne Jamison was a member of the original Opera for All Voices consortium in her previous position as Director of Programs and Partnerships at Seattle Opera. She stepped into her current position at Kentucky Opera in August 2018. “The Opera for All Voices initiative
is going head-to-head with the notion that opera is an old and
irrelevant art form,” notes Jamison. “Kentucky Opera is thrilled to help
bring a new opera to life, especially one as timely and meaningful as
this. Through the powerful storytelling mechanism of opera, This Little Light of Mine reminds us of the importance of liberty and justice for all.”
About the Santa Fe Opera
Lauded by The Wall Street Journal
as “the Rolls-Royce of American summer opera festivals,” the Santa Fe
Opera annually draws 85,000 people from New Mexico and around the globe.
Nestled atop a mountain vista in northern New Mexico, the company’s
iconic Crosby Theatre is open on three sides, allowing
visitors to enjoy performances complemented by the elements. Since 1957
the company has presented over 2,000 performances of 175 operas by
89 composers spanning five centuries of opera, creating a legacy of 45
American premieres and 16 world premieres.
About Support for Opera For All Voices and This Little Light of Mine
Commissioning and development support for Opera for All Voices was provided by the Melville Hankins Family Foundation, Principal Education Sponsor of the Santa Fe Opera; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and two OPERA America Innovation Grants, generously funded by the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation. The commission and production of This Little Light of Mine is
made possible by an OPERA America Innovation Grant and the generous
support of the Melville Hankins Family Foundation. The workshop of This Little Light of Mine is sponsored by Gene and Jean Stark.
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