‘Omar’ authors win 2023 Pulitzer Prize in music
里安农吉登斯 and 迈克尔·亚伯 told the story of enslaved African scholar Omar ibn Said in an opera co-produced by Carolina Performing 艺术.
“Omar,” an opera from Southern Futures at Carolina Performing 艺术 Artist-in-Residence 里安农吉登斯 广受赞誉的作曲家 迈克尔·亚伯获得了2023年普利策音乐奖. This marks the first time a work co-commissioned and co-produced by CPA has won this distinguished national honor.
2月. 25和26, sold-out audiences watched the North Carolina premiere of “Omar” as part of CPA’s 2022-23 season. The work draws inspiration from the life of Omar ibn Said, a West African scholar who spent over half a century enslaved to a prominent North Carolina family. 在他死后, Said left behind a collection of Arabic-language documents, including an 1831 autobiography that informs much of the opera’s content. 其中一些 材料 reside in Wilson Library on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
“We’re thrilled that our support and investment in this opera, in collaboration with Spoleto Festival USA 和 many opera houses now staging it, helped bring this Pulitzer-winning work to life,艾莉森·弗里德曼说, the James and Susan Moeser executive and artistic director at CPA. “‘Omar’ is the result of countless hours of cross-disciplinary re太阳城娱乐城, 和 state of North Carolina should be proud of UNC’s role in nurturing such an innovative production.”
詹姆斯·麦克尔在《太阳城娱乐城》中.（图片由美国斯波莱托音乐节提供）
在二月演出之前, CPA partnered with organizations across the community to foster discussions about the social, 政治, 歌剧的经济和历史背景. 伙伴组织包括 北卡罗来纳大学出版社, 争取民主变革运动 和 北卡罗来纳大学非洲研究中心除其他外. Hundreds of community members attended these events and participated in these ongoing conversations, 包括一群当地的高中生.
“在当地老师的帮助下, we brought in 130 students to attend a dress rehearsal hosted by 里安农吉登斯 herself,阿曼达·格雷厄姆说, 注册会计师事务所业务副总监. “The students saw how the music that began on Giddens’ banjo transformed into the foundation for an entire opera. It felt incredible to share that process with the community.”
In the wake of the Pulitzer announcement, Giddens hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. On May 9, she announced the forthcoming release of her new solo album, “You’re the One.” She is also embarking on the second year of her three-year residency with Southern Futures at CPA. In this role, she’ll continue to pull from the past to tell hidden stories about the South.
“CPA致力于这项研究, commissioning and production of new work that helps to tell untold stories of our regional history and spur audiences to ask and observe how art can build bridges,弗里德曼说. “To see a work supported by Southern Futures win a Pulitzer Prize shows that we’re on the right path. Work produced on UNC’s campus with local roots is making a global impact.”
