Rhiannon Giddens performs “Julie’s Aria,” a song from Omar, the new opera she wrote with Michael Abels, on this recording with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi and guitarist Bill Frisell. Omar is based on the life and autobiography of enslaved Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said, who was forcefully brought to Charleston, SC, from Africa in 1807. “My work as a whole is about excavating and shining a light on pieces of history that not only need to be seen and heard, but that can also add to the conversation about what’s going on now,” Giddens says. “This is a story that hasn’t been represented in the operatic world—or in any world.”
Omar, the opera composed by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, made its long-awaited world premiere on Friday, May 27, 2022, in Charleston, SC, at the Spoleto Festival USA. In the lead-up to this first performance, Giddens released her own recording of the song “Julie’s Aria” that is featured in the opera. Giddens also wrote the opera’s libretto. The recording was recently made by Giddens with guitarist Bill Frisell and her frequent collaborator Francesco Turrisi. (Giddens does not perform in the production of Omar.)
You can hear “Julie’s Aria” below and here, and read about Omar in the New York Times at nytimes.com.
Omar is based on the life and autobiography of enslaved Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said, who was forcefully brought to Charleston, SC from Africa in 1807. In a statement, Giddens notes: “My work as a whole is about excavating and shining a light on pieces of history that not only need to be seen and heard, but that can also add to the conversation about what’s going on now. This is a story that hasn’t been represented in the operatic world—or in any world.”
Other major opera companies will perform Omar as well, including LA Opera in the fall of 2022 followed by Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, a co-producer of the work (Omar was previously scheduled to debut at Spoleto in 2020 but was postponed that year and again in 2021 due to the pandemic). Giddens worked on the score with composer Michael Abels, who is known for his work on Jordan Peele's films Get Out and Us.
Giddens’ latest album release, They’re Calling Me Home (Nonesuch), won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album earlier this year. She tours throughout 2022 and will release her first book this fall, entitled Build a House. Written as a song to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, Build a House is illustrated by painter Monica Mikai and tells the story of a people who would not be moved and the music that sustained them.
