Image by © Dr. Sam Martin/DigitalWildArt
lalovavi
summer 2026
Music Hall • springer auditorium
Music by Kevin Day
Libretto by Tifara Brown
Sung in English and Tut* with projected English captions
with each step, loves beacon shall shine bright
Lalovavi is an Afrofuturist opera set 400 years in the future. It follows the journey of Persephone, the youngest teenage daughter of the Primus of Atlas, formerly the city of Atlanta. Currency and status in Atlas are determined based on the presence of Syndica, a rare gene that promotes vitality and longevity. When Persephone is found to possess this gene, she is betrayed by her family and must run for her life. She is thrust into an epic adventure, uncovering a hidden past that leads her to discover love’s true meaning and the power to determine her own destiny.
*Tut is a language that is indigenous to Black Americans and passed down from their enslaved ancestors, who developed Tut as a mechanism for learning how to read and write when it was illegal for them to do so. The title of the opera, “lalovavi,” is the Tut word for “love.”
the black opera project
Lalovavi is the first work in Cincinnati Opera’s groundbreaking, three-opera commissioning initiative, The Black Opera Project, that engages creators to develop new works celebrating Black stories.
creative team
watch
Composer Kevin Day and librettist Tifara Brown discuss their insights, inspirations, and creative process for Lalovavi.
From WLWT-TV’s Courtis Fuller, this episode of “Let’s Talk Cincy” explores the inspiration and work happening to bring Lalovavi, the first production in the Black Opera Project, to life.
Segment begins at 11:28
Watch highlights from two workshops of Lalovavi presented by Opera Fusion: New Works, a collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
listen
ACT 1
Prologue (opening chorus)
Excerpts (from Opera Fusion: New Works workshops)
ACT 2
Love, Come to Me (Niamara’s Aria); Lauryn Davis, mezzo-soprano
Luminous Forest (tone poem)
ACT 3
Meet the Composer
Photo: Sara Bill Photography
Kevin Day
Kevin Day is an internationally acclaimed composer, conductor, and jazz pianist based in San Diego, California. Known for his exuberant, introspective, and groove-oriented composition style, Day’s music fuses genres such as jazz, contemporary classical, R&B, Soul, and more. Day has been performed by some of the world’s top instrumental soloists, wind bands, chamber ensembles, and symphony orchestras.
MEET THE LIBRETTIST
Photo: PKT Productions
Tifara Brown
Tifara Brown is a writer, performance poet, oral historian, and activist with roots in Southern Georgia, who has built a personal brand on the advancement of Black American history, cultural preservation, and community relations. Her poems have been published in Quartz Literary, Wingless Dreamer Publisher, Sunspot Literary Journal, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, Minerva Rising Press, Haunted Waters Press, Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Club Plum Literary Journal and Words, and Whispers Literary Journal.
key contacts
For support and funding opportunities:
Marissa Abernathy - mabernathy@cincinnatiopera.org
For co-production opportunities:
Jane Hulburt - jhulburt@cincinnatiopera.org
For Community Engagement and Education opportunities:
Tracy L. Wilson - twilson@cincinnatiopera.org
tickets
Tickets for Lalovavi will go on sale in the fall of 2025 as part of Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Summer Festival season ticket packages. Tickets to individual performances of Lalovavi will go on sale in April 2026.
Lead funding for Lalovavi provided by the
David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Funded in part by The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.
