At 11:50 p.m. – with only ten minutes remaining before the deadline passed – Tre’von Griffith decided to go ahead and follow through on a leap of faith.
“My first thought was, ‘they are not going to pick me,’” Griffith said. He fought through the doubt and followed through with his online submission for the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis 2023 New Works Collective.
Griffith holds a master’s degree in Global Entertainment and Music Business from Berklee College’s Valencia, Spain campus. He is also a singer/songwriter, creative producer and music director with international credentials. But the North St. Louis native just could not see a place for his art – or his perspective – on opera’s stage.
OTSL proved him wrong. Of more than 100 submissions, Griffith’s proposal for Madison Lodge was one of three selected to be commissioned as part of their groundbreaking initiative. Artists are invited to submit proposals in the hope their work is selected to be developed for the OTSL stage. His debut as an opera composer and librettist will be among the three twenty-minute operas to premiere on the Catherine B. Berges Theatre stage next week at COCA. Set in the Harlem Renaissance, Griffith proclaims Madison Lodge to be “a celebration of Black queer joy.”
“I am Scott Joplin’s wildest dream,” Griffith said. The music pioneer produced some of his best-known musical compositions while a resident of St. Louis at the turn of the last century. Joplin also wrote an opera. Treemonisha, which earned Joplin a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976, languished in obscurity for 60 years due to the longstanding tradition of not providing space for works that pay homage to Black music and culture within the historically white art form.
But in what has become the organization’s new normal in recent years, OTSL is at the forefront of providing opportunities for and committing resources to the development of operas that provide representation to communities who feel unseen and unheard.
“I feel like this is the first time in the history of opera that an organization of this size and this impact trusted their community – and our community – to make the decisions,” said Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, stage director and community consultant for the New Works Collective.
The New Workes Collective is the first initiative by an American opera company that invites open submissions from across the country. A panel of individuals with backgrounds historically underrepresented within the field of opera collectively decide which works to develop and present. And thanks in part to support from the Mellon Foundation and the Edward Jones Foundation, the panel will select three project per year for OTSL to develop, workshop and premiere as part of the initiative through 2025.
“I can’t tell you what that signifies to those of us who have so often felt overlooked and bypassed,” Maharaj said. “To be seen, respected and valued means so much – because for so long, so many of our ancestors have toiled and tried and given up because the mountain was so high.”
Those who attended the sneak preview that featured excerpts from the three operas – now have a deeper understanding of the impact provided through the New Works Collective. A flood of tears and emotions swept the face of librettist Samiya Bashir as she watched her, and Del’Shawn Taylor’s “Cook Shack” presented before an audience for the first time.
The opera is about a young girl who is inspired by Black women trailblazers in STEM when their spirits affirm her during a museum visit. Among the ancestors to fellowship with young Dayo was St. Louis staple Annie Malone.
“Just because this is Dayo’s story, it doesn’t mean that it is just for everyone who looks like Dayo,” Bashir said. “Her central human story is ours. Those who are not accustomed to seeing themselves in a young Black girl now get that opportunity. Just like when we go see Carmen, we have an opportunity to see ourselves in that story. I want to center us in that type of experience.”
Taylor, who composed the music for “Cook Shack” was overwhelmed by the opportunity their opera provides for its vocalists.
“We broke bread with our cast and to hear them say, ‘this is the first time I felt seen’ – and they have performed quite a bit – says a lot,” Taylor said. “And to be able to give that gift to them – and they give the gift back us to share – is so special.”
The Slants: An American Rock Opera is the other featured work of the New Works Collective’s 2023 presentation. Simon Tan and Joe X Jiang set to music the real-life experiences of an Asian rock band. They took the fight to reclaim a racial slur as their moniker all the way to the U.S. Supreme court.
“In this country, Blacks and Asians have a shared history of trauma and joy,” Maharaj said.
They also have a shared experience of narratives that have been brought in from the shadows within opera’s canon by OTSL with works such as “An American Soldier,” “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” and most recently with The New Works Collective.
“It is what every artist, every administrator and every board member that is BIPOC wants,” Maharaj said. “We just want an inch. If you give us that inch – of power, responsibility, respect, and representation– we will create the Grand Canyon.”
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ presentation of the New Works Collective will take place March 16-March 18 at COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theatre. For tickets and additional information, visit experienceopera.org/NWC.
