Julie's Aria

Submitted by nonesuch on Wed, 05/04/2022 - 14:37
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

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.”

Description

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.

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Rhiannon Giddens
reissues?
new-release
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
FLAC
Price
1.39
UPC
075597908473
Label
MP3
Price
1.29
UPC
075597908480

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, who received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Princeton University at the commencement ceremony this morning. "Named by NPR as one of the 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, she has dedicated her career to raising up voices that have been overlooked or erased," says the school. "Few contemporary artists have done more to connect overlooked musical traditions of America’s past with music being performed today."

  • Rhiannon Giddens’ You’re the One, her third solo studio album and her first of all original songs, is due August 18. This collection of twelve tunes written over the course of her career bursts with life-affirming energy, drawing from the folk music she knows so deeply and its pop descendants. The album was produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Alicia Keys, Valerie June) and recorded in Miami with a ten- to twelve-person ensemble including Giddens’ closest musical collaborators from the past decade and a horn section. The lone featured guest on the album is Jason Isbell on "Yet to Be." The album's title track is out today; you can watch the lyric video here. Giddens will lead the biggest headlining shows of her career to celebrate the album's release.

  • About This Album

    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.