Opera

Scott Joplin, the king of ragtime music, wrote an opera that lay dormant for decades. A new adaptation of “Treemonisha” at Opera Theatre of St. Louis shows that the composer blended influences from European opera and Black culture.

The celebrated Sumner High School graduate, who led an illustrious, jet-setting singing career, broke the color barrier as the first Black artist to perform at Germany's Bayreuth Festival.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis will present three short operas, all by artists of color who’ve worked largely outside the opera world. The works address the roots of Black, queer ballroom culture; three important inventors who were Black women, and the Supreme Court battle over a rock band’s attempt to reappropriate a racial slur.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis will produce three short operas by artists of color who seek to expand the boundaries of American opera by incorporating new sounds and stories. A community panel of artists, most of whom work outside the opera field, selected the pieces.

“Music as the Message: Sing on, Sing on!” will include homegrown opera singer Adrienne Danrich, local musicians and singers from Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis debuts ‘Harvey Milk,’ ‘Awakenings’

VocalEase preserves perfect acoustics even when protecting wearers from airborne germs.

Marketing director Anh Le, composer Laura Karpman and librettist Taura Stinson discuss highlights from Opera Theatre of St. Louis' upcoming 2021 Festival Season, which sold out just one week after opening ticket sales to the public.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has an "overwhelmingly white" administrative staff, according to its leader. A fellowship program aims to increase the behind-the-scenes diversity at the organization and elsewhere in the field.

Opera Theatre has established a fund to support work by underrepresented voices in the heavily white world of professional opera. It also plans a fellowship program to train artists and administrators of color.