Positive Stories. Potent Messages. The New Classics.
The Black Opera Project brings together visionary artists to create three powerful new operas that celebrate the resilience, richness, and creativity of the Black American experience.
But this initiative is about more than opera—it’s a bold statement of representation and a celebration of voice. These new works explore Afrofuturism (Lalovavi), pay tribute to civil rights icons like John Lewis (John Lewis: Good Trouble), and reimagine contemporary narratives crafted for the stage (Good Bones). Each story is designed to uplift, inspire, and resonate profoundly.
Join us in this dynamic fusion of tradition and innovation—an artistic journey that empowers, captivates, and honors a legacy of culture, courage, and the enduring human spirit.
Reshaping Opera’s Future
Watch, be inspired, and consider how you can be part of what comes next.
The Black Opera Project is helping shape a more expansive future for opera—one rooted in artistry, legacy, and the power of stories that deserve to be seen and heard.
Through performance, process, history, and reflection, this film offers a deeper look at the vision behind the work and the momentum building around it.
It also highlights the leadership of Ann and Harry Santen, whose generosity is helping move this project forward and whose example stands as a powerful invitation to others. Their support is not only advancing this work—it is a call to join them in championing bold new stories, investing in artistic legacy, and helping bring the future of opera to life.
Produced in collaboration with:
@thinkmadcreative @UnderstoryOfficial @BlackTentMedia @CincinnatiOpera
Filmed entirely in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, featuring @CincinnatiMusicHall and Washington Park.
PART I:
Lalovavi
The first new work featured as part of the Black Opera Project is Lalovavi (pronounced lah-low-VAH-vee) from two first-time opera creators: award-winning composer Kevin Day (music) and writer and performance poet Tifara Brown (libretto), working in collaboration with acclaimed stage director and dramaturg Kimille Howard. Lalovavi is anticipated to be the first grand opera on an Afrofuturist theme—a large-scale work in three acts for soloists, chorus, and orchestra.
The world premiere performances of Lalovavi took place on July 9 & 11, 2026, during Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Summer Festival.
Lead Funding for Lalovavi provided by:
The David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Part II:
John Lewis: Good Trouble
Librettist Diana Solomon-Glover and composer Maria Thompson Corley weave together the heartwarming, heroic story of a boy from humble beginnings, armored only in his belief in “The Beloved Community,” who put his life on the line to secure the right to vote for all Americans.
The world premiere performances of John Lewis: Good Trouble will take place on June 18 & 20, 2027 at Cincinnati Music Hall as part of Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Summer Festival.
looking ahead
The third opera in The Black Opera Project will be composed by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Abels, with libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames. Good Bones follows a young couple renovating a historic home in a historically Black neighborhood within an up-and-coming city, compelling them to contend with spirits past and present. Good Bones will receive its world premiere in Summer 2028 at Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall.
“The launch of The Black Opera Project marks the fruition of dreams long held by Black artists like me. While I was singing the title role in Porgy and Bess in 2019, Cincinnati Opera leaders invited my fellow cast members and me into a conversation about opera’s future. My colleagues and I expressed concern that there were no operas that truly represented the African American culture in a positive, modern, realistic, and contemporaneously relatable way. I asked, ‘When is there going to be an opera that has the same impact on the operatic stage that the movie Black Panther had on the big screen?’ We knew there was a critical need to create and develop works that represented the vastness and beauty of the African American experience.
Cincinnati Opera bought into this vision, fully dedicating themselves to bringing the Black Opera Project to life. I’m excited about what this initiative means both for people of color and for opera fans everywhere who’ll get a chance to see what Black joy looks like on the opera stage. We’re making history and changing our art form for the better.”
—Morris Robinson, world-renowned bass and Cincinnati Opera Artistic Advisor
“We’re thankful for the visionary artists and supporters who challenged us to think differently about the types of narratives we present onstage. The Black Opera Project marks an important next step in our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion, and we can’t wait to share these inspiring and uplifting stories about the Black community with the world.”
—Evans Mirageas, Cincinnati Opera’s Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director
The Black Opera Project is made possible, in part, through the generous support of:
