Positive Stories. Potent Messages. The New Classics.
The Black Opera Project brings together visionary artists to create three powerful new operas that celebrate the resilience, richness, and creativity of the Black American experience.
The first opera will premiere in the summer of 2026, with a new work following each year through 2028.
But this initiative is about more than opera—it’s a bold statement of representation and a celebration of voice. These new works will explore Afrofuturism, pay tribute to civil rights icons like John Lewis, and reimagine contemporary narratives crafted for the stage. Each story is designed to uplift, inspire, and resonate profoundly.
Join us in this dynamic fusion of tradition and innovation—an artistic journey that empowers, captivates, and honors a legacy of culture, courage, and the enduring human spirit.
PART I:
Lalovavi
The first new work to be featured as part of the Black Opera Project is Lalovavi (pronounced lah-low-VAH-vee) from two first-time opera creators: award-winning composer Kevin Day (music) and writer and performance poet Tifara Brown (libretto), working in collaboration with acclaimed stage director and dramaturg Kimille Howard. Lalovavi is anticipated to be the first grand opera on an Afrofuturist theme—a large-scale work in three acts for soloists, chorus, and orchestra.
Lalovavi will premiere during Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Summer Festival.
Lalovavi Lead Funder:
The David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Funded in part by The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.
looking ahead
The second opera in The Black Opera Project, John Lewis: Good Trouble, will receive its world premiere during Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Summer Festival. Based on the life of U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, the opera features music by Maria Thompson Corley, libretto by Diana Solomon-Glover, and stage direction and dramaturgy by Timothy Douglas. Full details, along with the third work in The Black Opera Project, will be announced at a later date.
“The launch of The Black Opera Project marks the fruition of dreams long held by Black artists like me. While I was singing the title role in Porgy and Bess in 2019, Cincinnati Opera leaders invited my fellow cast members and me into a conversation about opera’s future. My colleagues and I expressed concern that there were no operas that truly represented the African American culture in a positive, modern, realistic, and contemporaneously relatable way. I asked, ‘When is there going to be an opera that has the same impact on the operatic stage that the movie Black Panther had on the big screen?’ We knew there was a critical need to create and develop works that represented the vastness and beauty of the African American experience.
Cincinnati Opera bought into this vision, fully dedicating themselves to bringing the Black Opera Project to life. I’m excited about what this initiative means both for people of color and for opera fans everywhere who’ll get a chance to see what Black joy looks like on the opera stage. We’re making history and changing our art form for the better.”
—Morris Robinson, world-renowned bass and Cincinnati Opera artistic advisor
“We’re thankful for the visionary artists and supporters who challenged us to think differently about the types of narratives we present onstage. The Black Opera Project marks an important next step in our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion, and we can’t wait to share these inspiring and uplifting stories about the Black community with the world.”
—Evans Mirageas, Cincinnati Opera’s Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director
The Black Opera Project was made possible, in part, through the generous support of
