It was the first all-African American opera. And now, ‘Treemonisha’ is getting new life

“Despite not being staged while [composer Scott] Joplin was still alive, Treemonisha has had a lasting legacy. It was first performed in its entirety in the 1970s, and in 1977 Joplin posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for music. It’s been staged again since then, but now, it’s being rewritten and expanded with an entirely new team at the helm. [The Toronto company] Volcano and … a multitude of [creators and] performers are reviving the opera for its premiere in 2020. The entire creative team — and the orchestra, once the opera goes public — is composed of Black women.” – CBC