South Shore Opera Company of Chicago to Preview ‘Fannie Lou Hamer: I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired’

By David Salazar

The South Shore Opera Company of Chicago is set to present a preview performance of “Fannie Lou Hamer: I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired.”

The showcase, scheduled for Oct. 17, 2024, will feature about half of the opera, which will make its debut in 2025 in a full production. There will also be panel discussions from members and soloists of the company. Composer Richard Thompson, librettist Cassandra Medley, director Cordaro Johnson, conductor Leslie B. Dunner, production designer Elizabeth Norman Sojourner, and vocalist Qiana C. McNary will headline the showcase.

“I guess the main thing is that the opera is a reminder of the sheer ignorance and violence that were the driving forces behind Jim Crow laws. Emancipation was a word,” Thompson told OperaWire. “The reality was a continuation of the implacable oppression of slavery. I think we tend to take the civil rights movement almost for granted: “Oh yes, Martin Luther King Jr. and his ‘I Have a Dream speech. There was  so much going on and so many people working behind the scenes at that time.For me, Fannie Lou Hamer’s life is a great example of willpower in the face of overwhelming odds. Her life shows that the power of the human spirit combined with a deep sense of humanity can change the world. Sadly, her work is not done, as we can see by the current state of affairs. I didn’t know much about her before I started working on this piece. I have learned a lot by working on  it. I must say that writing it was a very emotional and,at times, a very disturbing  experience. Ultimately, it is a story of triumph in the face of adversity.”

 

 

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