I am so excited about the upcoming production of my opera about Fannie Lou Hamer – Is This America? I was in Boston last week for the first week of rehearsals and the singers are terrific. I loved hearing them sing my music.
The performances of this new version of the opera are just three weeks away on September 20, 21, and 22 at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester, MA. Tickets are available through White Snake Projects.
Meeting the Cast
This is the fourth cast that I have worked with on various versions of this opera over the past 15 years, and since Fannie Lou Hamer fought so hard to overcome all forms of racism, I think she would be pleased to hear that an opera about her is providing work to so many excellent classical musicians of color. I know first-hand how difficult it has been for artists of color to break into the classical music world, and I am glad that my work is helping the next generation make some progress.
I want to give special thanks to White Snake’s Artistic Director, Cerise Lim Jacobs for creating her “activist opera company” which has featured so many artists of color, and to Music Director, Tianhui Ng, who has championed my work for the past ten years. They have assembled an incredible cast and crew for this production.
I feel especially blessed to have Deborah Nansteel as the mezzo-soprano playing Fannie Lou Hamer. Deborah is a rising star who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Los Angeles Opera, among others. She has also sung at Carnegie Hall and with the NY Philharmonic. She brings a lot of passion to the music, and I know that she is going to be an amazing Fannie.
I also loved meeting Eliam Ramos, who is playing Fannie’s husband, Pap. Eliam is from Puerto Rico and he worked with the Teatro de la Ópera de Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Symphonic Orchestra, and the Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra prior to moving to New York in 2013. He has performed in the U.S., Spain, Israel, and Mexico.
Like me, Eliam is comfortable in a wide range of styles – from traditional opera and symphonic concerts, to zarzuelas (a Spanish genre that alternates between sung and spoken scenes) and modern compositions. The Metropolitan Opera Guild featured him in their Verdi’s Baritones Series last year.
I was able to share some time outside of the rehearsals with Deborah Nansteel, Eliam Ramos, and another wonderful singer named Isabel Randall, thanks to Cerise Lim Jacobs, who was graciously letting all of us stay in her beautiful home. Part of the fun was meeting Cerise’s three little dogs and her pet pig, Marzipan.
It was a rare treat to meet Marzipan, since she clearly loved musicians. She was especially attentive at meal time and always offered to help clean up our leftovers. I have been a musician a long time, but I have never had a fan “eating out of the palm of my hand” with as much enthusiasm as Marzipan. Hopefully, it won’t go to my head.
Get Your Tickets!
White Snake Projects is producing Is This America? at the beautiful Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road, Boston, MA 02125 on Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, September 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 – $185. Get Tickets>>