| Omar | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Omar_Ibn_Said_(nicknamed_Uncle_Moreau)_A_Slave_of_Great_Notoriety_of_North_Carolina,_restored_and_colourised_ambrotype_circa_1850.jpg) Restored and colorized ambrotype of Omar ibn Said, c. 1850 | |
| Librettist | Rhiannon Giddens |
| Language | English |
| Based on | the autobiography of Omar ibn Said |
| Premiere | May 27, 2022 |
Omar is an American opera, composed by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, with a libretto by Giddens. It had its world premiere at the Spoleto Festival USA in 2022. It had its West Coast premiere at Los Angeles Opera in October 2022. It was performed at Carolina Performing Arts in February 2023, and had its New England premiere at Boston Lyric Opera in May 2023.
The opera's plot loosely follows the life of Omar ibn Said, and is based on his autobiography A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar ibn Said, written in 1831, mostly in Arabic. It is the only known memoir written by a slave in America in Arabic.[1] The work was translated into English by Ala Alryyes and published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 2011.[2]
Omar won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
- ^ Cooper, Michael (June 10, 2019). "Rhiannon Giddens Is Writing an Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Said, Oman ibn (July 20, 2011). Alryyes, Ala (ed.). A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said. Translated by Alryyes, Ala. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-24954-0. LCCN 2010044625. OL 25008284M.