Omar Tells His Story

As every Oberlin graduate knows, you're bound to meet fellow Obies everywhere. And the initial workshop for Omar, the first opera by Rhiannon Giddens '00, was no exception.

Conductor John Kennedy '82 was there in New York City to witness the work in its early stages. "I said to Rhiannon, 'You know, I went to Oberlin too.' And then a couple of the singers said they did. And she was like, 'Man, we gotta do it at Oberlin,'" he says with a laugh.

Years later, that vision will finally come true when the Oberlin Orchestra and choral ensembles present a concert version of Omar on December 6 and 8. The Pulitzer Prize-winning opera loosely follows the life of Omar ibn Said, a 19th-century Islamic scholar from West Africa who was enslaved in South Carolina.

Kennedy, who conducted the work's premiere and a later production, will lead the students and a cast of Oberlin alumni soloists. Giddens herself will be among them.

"I know it's extremely meaningful to Rhiannon that this be performeddone at Oberlin," Kennedy says. It's also a bit of a homecoming for himself, as he hasn't visited campus in almost 15 years. After arrivinghe arrives in just a couple of weeks, he'll rehearse with the students for more than a month to preparein preparation for the big undertaking.

Rather than perform Omar's Journey, a truncated version of the opera scored for a small ensemble, Oberlin will present the entire 170-minute work, minus the staging. Giddens, singing the role of Julie, will be joined by Limmie Pulliam '98, Michael Preacely '99, Daniel Okulitch '99, Daniel McGrew '15, and Krysty Swann.

"Opera is, first, music and singing, and it's sometimes really wonderful to distill an opera just to its music and to listen to it that way," Kennedy says. He adds that the strength of the score speaks for itself. Giddens wrote the libretto and composed the music together with Michael Abels, who also provided orchestrations.

"I think that the two composers have accomplished something remarkable in sort of fusing the African American musical traditions that are so important to Rhiannon's aesthetic with the idiom of opera," Kennedy says. "To me, they're expanding what we might consider to be classical cultural traditions."