The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), in partnership with Odyssey Opera, will present the New England premiere of “Frederick Douglass” at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.

The performance will be held on June 20, 2025 and will feature Black composer Ulysses Kay and librettist Donald Dorr’s opera, which centers on a fictionalized account of the final year of the renowned Black abolitionist and statesman.

Conducted by Gil Rose, the concert version will showcase the full BMOP orchestra along with several of today’s leading vocalists, including bassist Kenneth Kellogg in the lead role of Douglass, Melody Moore, Leroy Davis, John Allen Nelson, Omar Najmi, Neal Ferreira, and Matthew Arnold/Busby.

In addition to the performance, there will also be an education component in partnership with Castle of Our Skins, a Boston-based, Black-led chamber music ensemble. To that effect, Castle of Our Skins has led workshops focusing on Douglass and spirituals with young students. The result was narrative and musical responses which were then adapted by composer Yaz Lancaster to create a whole new work. That piece will get a performance at Symphony Hall on May 18, one at the Museum of African American History on June 8 as part of Boston Family Day.

This opera represents the second of five that BMOP commissioned to elevate opera by Black composers as part of its “As Told By” series. The first one in the series was “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” by Anthony Davis, which was subsequently released in a Grammy-nominated recording.

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