''Treemonisha'' (1911) is an opera by American

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

composer

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

. It is sometimes referred to as a "ragtime opera", though Joplin did not refer to it as such and it encompasses a wide range of musical styles. The music of ''Treemonisha'' includes an

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

and prelude, along with various

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

es, small ensemble pieces, a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and a few

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s. Southern (1997), p. 537. The opera was largely unknown before its first complete performance in 1972. Joplin was posthumously awarded the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for music in 1976 for ''Treemonisha''. The performance was called a "semimiracle" by music historian Gilbert Chase, who said ''Treemonisha'' "bestowed its creative vitality and moral message upon many thousands of delighted listeners and viewers" when it was recreated. Chase, p. 545. The musical style of the opera is the popular romantic one of the early 20th century. It has been described as "charming and piquant and ... deeply moving", with elements of black folk songs and dances, including a kind of pre-

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

music,

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

, and a

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

style scene featuring a preacher and congregation. The opera celebrates African-American music and culture while stressing that education is the salvation of African Americans. The heroine and symbolic educator is Treemonisha, who runs into trouble with a local band of conjurers, who kidnap her.

History

Joplin completed ''Treemonisha'' in

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

, and paid for a piano-vocal score to be published in 1911. Chase, p. 546 At the time of the publication, he sent a copy of the score to the ''American Musician and Art Journal''. ''Treemonisha'' received a glowing, full-page review in the June issue. The review said it was an "entirely new phase of musical art and... a thoroughly American opera (style)." This affirmed Joplin's goal of creating a distinctive form of African-American opera. Scott Joplin 19072

Despite this endorsement, the opera was never fully staged during his lifetime. Its sole performance was a concert read-through in 1915 with Joplin at the piano, at the Lincoln Theater in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York, paid for by Joplin. One of Joplin's friends, Sam Patterson, described this performance as "thin and unconvincing, little better than a rehearsal... its special quality (would have been) lost on the typical Harlem audience (that was) sophisticated enough to reject their folk past but not sufficiently so to relish a return to it". Aside from a concert-style performance in 1915 of the ballet '' Frolic of the Bears'' from act 2, by the Martin-Smith Music School, the opera was forgotten until 1970, when the score was rediscovered. On October 22, 1971, excerpts from ''Treemonisha'' were presented in a concert at the Lincoln Center Library, with musical performances by

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

, Joshua Rifkin and

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

joining a group of singers. The concert commemorated the recent publication of Joplin's collected works, which had been compiled and edited by

Vera Brodsky Lawrence Vera Brodsky Lawrence (born Vera Rebecca Brodsky; July 1, 1909 – September 18, 1996) was an American pianist, music historian, and editor. A child prodigy, she left her native Virginia to enroll at the Juilliard School of Music in New York Ci ...

. The world premiere took place on January 27, 1972, as a joint production of the music department of

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia, using the orchestration by T. J. Anderson. The performance was directed by

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance compan ...

, former head of a noted African-American dance company in her own name, and conducted by Robert Shaw. (He was one of the first major American conductors to hire both black and white singers for his

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

.) The production was well received by both audiences and critics. The original orchestrations for ''Treemonisha'' have been completely lost, as has Joplin's first opera '' A Guest of Honor'' (1903). Subsequent performances have been produced using orchestrations created by a variety of composers, including T. J. Anderson,

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

, and most recently, Rick Benjamin. Since its premiere, ''Treemonisha'' has been performed all over the United States, at venues such as the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

(twice, once with Schuller's 1982 orchestration), the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C., and in 1975 at the

Uris Theatre The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 19 ...

on Broadway, to overwhelming critical and public acclaim. Opera historian Elise Kirk noted that

the opera slumbered in oblivion for more than half a century before making a triumphant Broadway debut. It was also recorded commercially in its entirety – the earliest African American opera to achieve that distinction and the earliest to receive widespread modern recognition and performance.

Inspiration

Joplin's ambition was for ''Treemonisha'' to be both a serious opera in the European tradition and an entertaining piece of music. He drew on the ragtime idiom only in the dance episodes. Historians have speculated that Joplin's second wife, Freddie Alexander, may have inspired the opera. Berlin (1996), pp. 207–8. Like the title character, she was educated, well-read, and known to be a proponent of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

culture. Joplin set the work in September 1884, the month and year of Alexander's birth, which contributes to that theory. Joplin biographer Edward A. Berlin has said that ''Treemonisha'' may have expressed other aspects of Joplin's life. Berlin said that the opera was "a tribute to reddie, his second wifethe woman he loved, a woman other biographers never even mentioned." Berlin (1996), pp. 207–208. He also notes that in the opera, the title character receives her education in a white woman's home. Berlin and other music historians, along with Joplin's widow, have noted similarities between this element of the opera's story and Joplin's own childhood music and other lessons with Julius Weiss. Treemonisha, the protagonist of the opera, is a black teenager who was educated by a white woman, "just as Joplin received his education from a white music teacher". Historian Larry Wolz agrees, noting that the "influence of mid-nineteenth-century German operatic style" is quite obvious in ''Treemonisha'', which he attributes to Joplin learning from Weiss. Berlin notes that Lottie Joplin (the composer's third wife) saw a connection between the character Treemonisha's wish to lead her people out of ignorance, and a similar desire in the composer. Lottie Joplin also describes Treemonisha as a spirit who would speak to him while Scott Joplin played the piano, and she would "shape" the composition. "She'd tell him secrets. She'd tell him the past and the future," said Lottie Joplin. Treemonisha was an entity present while the piece was being created and was part of the process. At the time of the opera's publication in 1911, the ''American Musician and Art Journal'' praised it as "an entirely new form of operatic art". Later critics have also praised the opera as occupying a special place in American history, with its heroine "a startlingly early voice for modern civil rights causes, notably the importance of education and knowledge to African American advancement." Curtis's conclusion is similar: "In the end, ''Treemonisha'' offered a celebration of literacy, learning, hard work, and community solidarity as the best formula for advancing the race." Christensen (1999), p. 444. Berlin describes it as a "fine opera, certainly more interesting than most operas then being written in the United States". By contrast, he says that Joplin's libretto showed the composer "was not a competent dramatist" and that the libretto was not of the same quality as the music.

Plot synopsis

''Treemonisha'' takes place in September 1884 on a former slave plantation in an isolated forest, between

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin cities, twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2 ...

(Joplin's childhood town) and the Red River in Arkansas. Treemonisha is a young freedwoman. After being taught to read by a white woman, she leads her community against the influence of conjurers, who are shown as preying on ignorance and superstition. Treemonisha is abducted and is about to be thrown into a wasps' nest when her friend Remus rescues her. The community realizes the value of education and the liability of their ignorance before choosing her as their teacher and leader. Crawford (2001), p. 545.

Act 1

The opera opens with Zodzetrick, a conjurer, attempting to sell a bag of luck to Monisha ("The Bag of Luck"). However, her husband, Ned, wards him off. As Zodzetrick slinks away, Treemonisha and Remus hear the folks singing and excitedly prepare for the day ("The Corn Huskers"). Treemonisha then asks if they would like a ring play before they worked. They accept, and Andy leads the folks in a song and dance ("We're Goin' Around"). When the folks have finished dancing, Treemonisha notices that the women wear wreaths on their heads, and she herself tries to acquire one from a tree ("The Wreath"). However, Monisha stops her in her tracks, and tells her of how this certain tree is sacred. Monisha performs an aria, talking of Treemonisha's discovery under the tree ("The Sacred Tree"). Treemonisha is distraught to learn Monisha and Ned aren't her true parents and laments over it ("Surprised"). Monisha then tells of how Treemonisha was brought up and educated ("Treemonisha's Bringing Up"). Parson Alltalk then arrives in a wagon, talking to the neighborhood and confirming their belief in superstition. Whilst he distracts the folks, the conjurers kidnap Treemonisha ("Good Advice"). Once Alltalk leaves, the neighborhood realizes Treemonisha is gone ("Confusion"). Remus sets out to rescue Treemonisha.

Act 2

Act 2 opens with Simon, another conjurer, singing of superstition ("Superstition"). Zodzetrick, Luddud and Cephus then debate on Treemonisha's punishment for foiling their plans earlier in the day ("Treemonisha in Peril"). Whilst Treemonisha is bound, strange creatures perform a dance number about her ("Frolic of the Bears"). Simon and Cephus then take Treemonisha to be thrown in a giant wasps' nest ("The Wasp Nest"), but Remus arrives just in time, masquerading as the devil, scaring the conjurers away ("The Rescue"). The next scene opens on another plantation, where four laborers perform a quartet about having a break ("We Will Rest Awhile / Song of the Cotton Pickers"). Treemonisha and Remus then arrive, and ask for directions to the John Smith plantation. Once they have left, the workers hear a horn, and celebrate that their work is finished for the day ("Aunt Dinah has Blowed de Horn").

Act 3

The third act opens with a prelude ("Prelude to Act 3") in an abandoned plantation. Back in the neighborhood, Monisha and Ned mourn about Treemonisha's disappearance ("I Want to See My Child"). When Remus and Treemonisha return, the neighborhood celebrate, and show that they have captured two of the conjurers, Zodzetrick and Luddud ("Treemonisha's Return"). Remus then lectures about good and evil ("Wrong is Never Right (A Lecture)"). Andy still wants to punish the conjurers, and riles up the neighborhood to attack them ("Abuse"). Ned then lectures the conjurers about their own nature ("When Villains Ramble Far and Near (A Lecture)"). Treemonisha persuades Andy to forgive the conjurers ("Conjurers Forgiven"), and sets them both free. Luddud decides to abandon conjuring, but Zodzetrick insists that he will never change his ways. The neighborhood then elect Treemonisha as their new leader ("We Will Trust You As Our Leader"), and they celebrate with a closing dance ("A Real Slow Drag").

Characters

*Andy, friend of Treemonisha –

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

*Cephus, a conjurer – tenor *Lucy, friend of Treemonisha –

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

*Luddud, a conjurer –

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

*Monisha, Treemonisha's adoptive mother – soprano *Ned, Treemonisha's adoptive father –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

*Parson Alltalk, a preacher – baritone *Remus, friend of Treemonisha – tenor *Simon, a conjurer – bass *Treemonisha, a young, educated freed slave – soprano *Zodzetrick, a conjurer – baritone

Original cast

''1972 Atlanta World Premiere'' * (Treemonisha) * (Monisha) * Seth McCoy (Remus) * Simon Estes (Ned)

Musical numbers

Act 1 *Overture *The Bag of Luck – Zodzetrick, Monisha, Ned, Treemonisha, Remus *The Corn Huskers – Chorus, Treemonisha, Remus *We're Goin' Around (A Ring Play) – Andy, Chorus *The Wreath – Treemonisha, Lucy, Monisha, Chorus *The Sacred Tree – Monisha *Surprised – Treemonisha, Chorus *Treemonisha's Bringing Up – Monisha, Treemonisha, Chorus *Good Advice – Parson Alltalk, Chorus *Confusion – Monisha, Chorus, Lucy, Ned, Remus Act 2 *Superstition – Simon, Chorus *Treemonisha in Peril – Simon, Chorus, Zodzetrick, Luddud, Cephus *Frolic of the Bears (ballet) – Chorus *The Wasp Nest – Simon, Chorus, Cephus *The Rescue – Treemonisha, Remus *We Will Rest Awhile / Song of the Cotton Pickers – Chorus *Going Home – Treemonisha, Remus, Chorus *Aunt Dinah Has Blowed de Horn – Chorus Act 3 *Prelude to Act 3 *I Want To See My Child – Monisha, Ned *Treemonisha's Return – Monisha, Ned, Remus, Treemonisha, Chorus, Andy, Zodzetrick, Luddud *Wrong is Never Right (A Lecture) – Remus, Chorus *Abuse – Andy, Chorus, Treemonisha *When Villains Ramble Far and Near (A Lecture) – Ned *Conjurors Forgiven – Treemonisha, Andy, Chorus *We Will Trust You As Our Leader – Treemonisha, Chorus *A Real Slow Drag – Treemonisha, Lucy, Chorus

Critical appraisal

Joplin wrote both the score and the libretto for the opera, which largely follows the form of European opera with many conventional arias, ensembles and choruses. In addition the themes of superstition and mysticism, which are evident in ''Treemonisha'', are common in the operatic tradition. Certain aspects of the plot are similar to devices in the work of the German composer

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

(of which Joplin was aware); a sacred tree under which Treemonisha is found recalls the tree from which Siegmund takes his enchanted sword in ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was ...

''. The recounting of the heroine's origins echos aspects of the opera ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

''. African-American folk tales also influence the story; for instance, the wasp nest incident is similar to the story of

Br'er Rabbit Br'er Rabbit ( ; an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African Americans, African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean ...

and the briar patch. ''Treemonisha'' is not a ragtime opera. Joplin used the styles of ragtime and other black music sparingly, to convey "racial character"; but he composed more music that reflected that of his childhood at the end of the 19th century. The opera has been seen as a valuable record of such rural Southern black music from the 1870s–1890s, re-created by a "skilled and sensitive participant". Joplin was posthumously awarded the

in music in 1976 for ''Treemonisha''.

Staged versions

United States

Atlanta Symphony and Morehouse Glee Club

The world premiere of ''Treemonisha'' was presented in 1972 by the

Atlanta Symphony Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, under Robert Shaw, and the Morehouse Glee Club, under Wendell Whalum, the production's musical director.

was stage director.

Houston Grand Opera

In 1976 the

first staged ''Treemonisha'' under music director Chris Nance and stage director

Frank Corsaro Frank Corsaro (December 22, 1924, New York City, New York – November 11, 2017, Suwanee, GeorgiaRobert ViagasNight of the Iguana Director Frank Corsaro Is Dead at 92/ref>) was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Br ...

, who had co-edited the published piano score of the opera and shared its performing rights, serves as artistic consultant. In 1981 the company revived that staging and produced a video of the production for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

by Sidney Smith. This used the Schuller orchestration and starred Carmen Balthrop as Treemonisha, Delores Ivory as Monisha, and

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

as Zodzetrick.

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

had previously released the audio version of this production on LPs in 1976.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

A fully orchestrated and costumed production of ''Treemonisha'' was staged in February 1991 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

In 2000,

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the ...

presented a production of ''Treemonisha'' directed by Rhoda Levine, conducted by Jeffrey Huard, and choreographed by Dianne McIntyre. The cast included Christina Clark (Treemonisha), Geraldine McMillian (Monisha), Nathan Granner (Remus), and Kevin Short (Ned). Unlike the 1976

production and recording, this production used Joplin's original dialect.

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

In June 2003 Rick Benjamin and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra premiered their version of Scott Joplin's opera ''Treemonisha'' at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco. An extensively annotated 204-page book and two-CD recording of Benjamin's orchestration was released in 2011.

Canada

In June 2023
Scott Joplin's Treemonisha - A Musical Reimagining
produced by Volcano Theatre Company, in association with

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

, Soulpepper, and Moveable Beast has its world premiere at the Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The staging featured orchestrations and arrangements by Jessie Montgomery and Jannina Norpoth, with book and libretto adapted by Leah-Simone Bowen.

Europe

Europe saw staged versions in Venice (Italy), Helsinki (Finland) and Gießen (Germany). After the German premiere at the Stadttheater Gießen in 1984,Nancy R. Ping Robbins, Guy Marco: ''Scott Joplin: A Guide to Research''. Routledge, 2014
p. 268.
/ref> Germany saw another stage version at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden in April 2015. There were four performances in August 2019 at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

, London (UK), as part of the Grimeborn Festival. A performance of ''Treemonisha'' was staged at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

in Paris, France

Africa

In 2022, the 28-member Isango Ensemble of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

premiered a reimagined version of Treemonisha at Théâtre de Caen in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Directed by

Mark Dornford-May Mark Anthony Dornford-May (born 29 September 1955) is a British theatre and film director, now based in South Africa. Personal life Mark Dornford-May was born near Eastoft in Yorkshire. His mother was a school teacher, and his father the Drama ...

and Paulina Malefane, with music direction by Mandisi Dyantyis, and choreography by Lungelo Ngamlana, this production of Treemonisha transposes Joplin's score to marimba and features musicians and singers in dual roles.

Adaptations

Conductor

Andre Kostelanetz Andre Kostelanetz (; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a Russian-American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orchestra music. Biography Abram Naumovich Kostelyanetz was born ...

recorded orchestral selections from ''Treemonisha'' in 1976 for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. In 1997, Aaron Robinson conducted ''Treemonisha: The Concert Version'' at the Rockport Opera House in Rockport, Maine, with a new

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by Judith Kurtz Bogdanove. In June 2008 Sue Keller produced and arranged an abridged orchestral-choral rendition of ''Treemonisha''. The production was commissioned by the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation. A new arrangement for singers and

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

(4 trumpets, 4 trombones, French horn, tuba) had been commissioned from German composer Stefan Beyer. A suite from ''Treemonisha'' arranged by

was performed as part of ''The Rest Is Noise'' season at London's

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

in 2013.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

''Treemonisha'' synopsis, plot, musical numbers

on Broadway, 1975
''Treemonisha'' centennial tribute
American Music Preservation.com
Joplin, Scott
by Theodore Albrecht, The Handbook of Texas History Online *
"''Treemonisha'', or ''Der Freischütz'' Upside Down"
by Marcello Piras, ''Current Research in Jazz'', Vol. 4 (2012) *
''Treemonisha Overture'' for orchestra
{{Authority control 1911 operas 1972 operas African-American music All-Black cast Broadway shows English-language operas Operas Operas by Scott Joplin Operas set in the United States Operas set in the 19th century Operas set on farms Works about educators Kidnapping in fiction Southern United States in fiction Fiction about slavery Pulitzer Prize for Music–winning works