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Belonging in Opera

Jan 9 - March 23, 2025

Opera is shaped by many voices – from the composer and librettist who create the story, to the singers who bring music to life onstage.

How do these artists’ lived experiences impact the way they approach their work, and how does your own perspective shape your experience as a member of the audience?

In 2021, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, in partnership with WashU’s Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2 ) and Department of Music, began a multi-year exploration of race and opera through scholarly conversations; exchanges between composers, performers, researchers, and arts administrators; and performances by some of the world’s preeminent contemporary musicians. We aim to gain unique insights into the ways in which race and ethnicity have shaped the history of opera and are animating its future.

 

Special thanks to our supporting partners

    

Event information

Sunday, February 23
Bridging the Arts: a conversation with Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber

Monday, February 24
If Walls Could Talk: a conversation with Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber about their world premiere opera This House

Sunday, March 23
WashU’s Great Artists Series ’25: Lawrence Brownlee, tenor and Kevin Miller, piano

 

Completed Events:

February 6-8
New Works Collective Performances

Tuesday, January 28
Meet the Makers, An Insider’s Look at OTSL’s New Works Collective

Thursday, January 9
Don’t Be Angry!, a recital featuring Justin Austin

Sunday, February 23: Bridging the Arts: a conversation with Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber

Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts (130 Edgar Rd, Webster Groves, MO 63119)
5:30 p.m.
Free admission (coming soon)

Co-presented by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis are excited to host two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and librettist Lynn Nottage and poet, nonfiction writer, and librettist Ruby Aiyo Gerber. Join the mother daughter team for a conversation about how writing for various mediums has connected the St. Louis regional arts scene to their work. Jacqueline Thompson, Artistic Director of Metro Theatre Company, will moderate. Also featuring a special welcome by Ron Himes, founder of The Black Rep. Be sure to catch The Rep’s matinee performance of Nottage’s Clyde’s before the talk.

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Monday, February 24: If Walls Could Talk: a conversation with Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber about their world premiere opera This House

If Walls Could Talk: a conversation with Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber about their world premiere opera This House | Monday, Feburary 24 Center of Clayton 6:00 p.m.

Center of Clayton, (50 Gay Avenue, 63105)
6:00 p.m.
Free admission (coming soon)

Co-presented by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the City of Clayton.

Join Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the City of Clayton for a thought-provoking conversation with two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and poet, nonfiction writer, and librettist Ruby Aiyo Gerber as they explore the social complexities surrounding their opera This House, which will have its premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in May 2025. This mother-daughter duo will consider how both the facades of homes and families protect our inner lives from the outside world. Dr. Amber Simpson, Senior Learning and Performance Consultant at Edward Jones and Opera Theatre board member, will moderate the conversation. Co-presented by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the City of Clayton. Free registration coming soon.

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Sunday, March 23: WashU’s Great Artists Series ’25: Lawrence Brownlee, tenor and Kevin Miller, piano 

Washington University’s 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave, St. Louis, MO 63130
7:30 p.m.
$35-40 general admission, $15 students/youth

Co-presented by Opera Theatre, Washington University’s CRE2 and Department of Music

Celebrated tenor Lawrence Brownlee will present a recital in collaboration with pianist Kevin Miller as part of the Great Artists Series at WashU’s Department of Music. Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. In addition to a beautifully curated program of operatic hits, his performance will include works commissioned from six of today’s leading African American composers as featured on his Grammy-nominated album “Rising” This program speaks to the triumph of the African American community highlighting poetry of the giants of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Opera Theatre is funded in part by

      

Opera Theatre gratefully acknowledges our sustaining partner

Opera Theatre affirms its ADA compliance and is proud to promote diversity and inclusion in all activities.

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