Melissa Martinez

November 2017

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Treemonisha deals with the conflicts in African-American culture at the end of the 19th century--the desire to move into mainstream American society countered by the strange pull of the old African ways and superstitions. Treemonisha is kidnapped by the so-called "conjure men," but is rescued and returned home, where she becomes a leader among her community. The theme of the work--the importance of an education for both men and women--is powerfully set against music that borrows all of the elements of European opera and merges them with the unique rhythms of ragtime. Indeed, one of the opera's main ensembles, "A Real Slow Drag," is a true apotheosis of the Joplin style

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Produced by Cripple Creek Theater with OperaCreole, New Resonance Orchestra, and The Music Box Village

Presented at The Music Box Village

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Directed by Emily Whelan