Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels' Omar at War Memorial Opera House, November 7, 2023

San Francisco Opera presents Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels' Omar
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-4509 USA
7:30 PM, Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[7:30 PM] {lights down; pre-recorded welcome; concert tuning}
[7:31 PM] {applause for JK entrance}

1. [7:32 PM] Overture
2. [7:37 PM] Scene One: 1806, Futa Toro (a region of West Africa now part of Senegal)
3. [7:53 PM] Scene Two: The Middle Passage
4. [8:05 PM] Scene Three: The Charleston Slave Market
5. [8:22 PM] Scene Four: Johnson plantation
6. [8:32 PM] Scene Five: Johnson plantation, five months later
   [8:41 PM] {Act One ends}

[9:06 PM] {concert tuning; lights down; applause for JK entrance}

1. [9:07 PM] Scene One: Fayetteville County Jail
2. [9:25 PM] Scene Two: Owen plantation
3. [9:47 PM] Scene Three: Owen’s study
4. [9:52 PM] Scene Four (Omar reading under a tree)
5. [10:03 PM] Scene Five (Julie & Omar)
   [10:28 PM] {Act Two ends}
   [10:30 PM] {show ends}

• Barry Banks: Auctioneer, Taylor, tenor vox;
• Norman Garrett: Omar's Brother Abdul, Abe, baritone vox;
• Laura Krumm: Eliza, mezzo-soprano vox;
• Jamez McCorkle: Omar, tenor vox;
• Jermaine McGhee: Ancestral Figure (dancer);
• Daniel Okulitch: Johnson, Owen, bass-baritone vox;
• Taylor Raven: Omar's Mother Fatima, mezzo-soprano vox;
• Brittany Renee: Julie;
• Rehanna Thelwell: Katie Ellen, Caller, mezzo-soprano vox;
• Sydnee Turrentine-Johnson: ?, soprano vox.

• Michael Abels: composer;
• Kiara Benn: choreographer;
• Rhiannon Giddens: composer, librettist;
• April M. Hickman: co-costume designer;
• Joshua Higgason: projection designer;
• John Keene: chorus director;
• John Kennedy: conductor;
• Christopher Myers: production designer;
• Amy Rubin: set designer;
• Micheline Russell-Brown: co-costume designer;
• Pablo Santiago: lighting designer;
• Kaneza Schaal: director.

  ## Notes

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Program Notes or program notes

Joshua Kosman posted a promo/Q&A article with Rhiannon Giddens for the SF Chronicle, and followed it with a lukewarm review once the opera opened.

Lisa Hirsch opted for a more positive review in her critique for SFCV.

Lily O'Brien posted an interview with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven for SFCV.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!