Cincinnati Opera has announced a change for “The Black Opera Project.”

Per a press release, the company is pushing the project back one year to allow its creators to have more time to develop their ideas. The project commissions three operas from Black creators with the goal of illuminating the resilient spirit and vibrant heritage of the Black American Experience.

“Artistic ventures of any kind take time, but creating a new opera is a particularly complex and intricate endeavor,” said Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, in the press release. “We’re committed to providing each of these important new stories the creative space and resources to achieve their creators’ respective visions. This adjustment will allow additional time for each opera’s development and refinement.”

The three operas in question are in an Afrofuturistic grand opera by Kevin Day and Tifara Brown titled “Lalovavi.” The opera is set to open the Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Summer Festival; it was originally set for Juneteenth 2025. The second opera is Maria Thompson Corley and Diana Solomon Glover’s bio-opera about U.S. Congressman John Lewis called “Good Trouble: The Boy from Troy;” it opens in 2027. The third opera, which has yet to be named, will open in 2028.