Arlington Opera Company to Revive African-American's Long-Lost Work

A local opera company ambitiously hopes to convert a long-ignored opera by an African-American composer into a frequently performed classic, spreading its message of education and forgiveness to all ages and races.

Opera NOVA, based in Arlington, will stage four performances of ragtime king Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha” for school children and another for adults in November, but that is just the beginning.

“It is such a fine work that it should become as familiar to Americans as Aida and Carmen,” remarks Miriam Miller, president of Opera NOVA. “Written in 1910, it was not performed until 1975 because producers didn’t believe an African-American could write an opera.” It was also groundbreaking, she says, that a young woman had such a dominant role in pre-women’s suffrage times.

To gain support, Opera NOVA is holding a fund-raising brunch on Saturday, March 5, at the Washington Golf and Country Club in Arlington, complete with celebrity guests and a medley of music. Baritone Jose Sacin and others from the Opera NOVA ensemble will perform famous opera arias and Broadway show tunes, as well as selections from “Treemonisha.” The cost will be $50. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com, with a search for Opera NOVA or at 703-536-7557 or at operanovaevents@gmail.com.

Selected in tribute to African-Americans in the community, “Treemonisha” goes well beyond the universal romantic love theme of most operas because its moral messages are manifold. Perhaps the first purely American opera, “Treemonisha” emphasizes Joplin’s belief in the importance of education in wiping out superstition, mysticism and prejudice.

The story centers around a group of former slaves living in an Arkansas community in 1884 and plagued by a group of men selling townsfolk expensive bags of luck to hang over their doors. An 18-year-old girl, Treemonisha, persuades them to ignore the superstitions. After the men kidnap her, she gets the townspeople to forgive them.

Though Joplin is known for his ragtime pieces, such as “Twelfth Street Rag,” “Treemonisha”” is written in the classical opera tradition, marrying music, singing, drama, poetry and dance. Director Roger Riggle and Artistic Director Jose Sacin are assembling an experienced cast of quality opera performers to put on this ambitious opera, abbreviated to one hour.

With a shortened performance, Opera NOVA hopes to maintain the interest of school children, who will arrived in yellow school buses on four days, and some senior audiences that will be among the audience of an event on a Saturday still to be determined.

Since 1992, Opera NOVA, previously known as the Opera Guild of Northern Virginia, has been extending the range of the opera audience to children, minorities and others who may not be familiar with this art form. In 2015, the company produced a one-hour version of Puccini’s “Barber of Seville” at Thomas Jefferson Community Theater in Arlington for children and adults.

“Our mission is to inspire children through exposure to the magical art of opera” says Jose Sacin. “Opening their eyes and minds provides a world of new opportunities, directions and hopes for them.”