Lauren Snouffer, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Elijah McCormack, Chelsea Helm, Maya Kherani, James Reese Headline Opera Lafayette’s 2025-26 Season

Opera Lafayette has announced its 2025-26 season. First up is “Dido and Aeneas” starring Mary Elizabeth Williams, Elijah McCormack, and Chelsea Helm. Patrick Quigley conducts the Opera Lafayette Orchestra. Performance Dates: Oct. 16, 2025 (Washington DC), Oct. 20, 2025 (NYC) Then comes “Queen of Hearts,” a Valentine’s Day revel. Nic McGegan leads the concert, which features Maya Kherani and James Reese. {…}

Apr 23, 2025

Opera Lafayette to Celebrate Ryan Brown’s 30-Year Tenure & Farewell

Opera Lafayette will celebrate 30 years of Ryan Brown on two separate occasions. The program, titled “RE|JOICE: 30 Years of Ryan Brown,” heads to New York City for a performance at St. Bartholomew Church on April 30, 2025. Then on May 1, the showcase will take the stage in Washington D.C. at The Kennedy Center. Both events will represent Brown’s {…}

Jan 30, 2025

Q & A: Soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams on Edmond Dédé’s Opera ‘Morgiane’

(Photo Courtesy of Mary Elizabeth Williams.) Opera Lafayette and OperaCréole present “RE|STORE: Edmond Dédé’s ‘Morgiane’” in four cities across the U.S. including New Orleans, Washington, DC, New York City, and College Park, MD. The preview of this never-performed, long-lost masterpiece took place at the historical St. Louis Cathedral, where Dédé was baptized, featuring The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra playing modern instruments {…}

Jan 24, 2025

Winter Storm Forces Rescheduling of New Orleans Premiere of ‘Morgiane’

Opera Creole and Opera Lafayette’s performance of Edmond Dédé’s “Morgiane” in New Orleans has been rescheduled due to a winter storm. The showcase of the earliest extant complete opera by a Black American will now take place on Jan. 24 at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. The preview performance kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT. Following the New {…}

Nov 21, 2024

Opera Lafayette Receives Major Grant to Support World Premiere of ‘Morgiane’

Opera Lafayette is the recipient of a $410,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. The grant will support the performance and recording of “Morgiane” by Edmond Dédé, the earliest existing opera by a Black American. The opera will be conducted by Quigley the world premiere showcases in February 2025 at Lincoln Theatre in Washington, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York {…}

Nov 3, 2024

OperaCréole & Opera Lafayette Debut the Earliest Extant Complete Opera by a Black American

OperaCréole and Opera Lafayette present Edmond Dédé’s the never-performed work “Morgiane.” Only recently discovered, “Morgiane” is believed to be the earliest extant complete opera by a Black American. The world premiere is presented in a concert version by Mary Elizabeth Williams, Kenneth Kellogg, Chauncey Packer, Joshua Conyers, Jonathan Woody, along with members of Opera Creole chorus. The Opera Lafayette Orchestra performs {…}

Sep 16, 2024

Opera Lafayette Announces 204-25 Season

Opera Lafayette announces its 30th anniversary season. Soprano Amel Brahim-Djelloul performs in the Ensemble Amedyez and and Kalanidhi Dance in the opening event, “RE|CLAIM.” Performance Dates: October 21, 22, & 24, 2024 “RE | STORE” events are centered around Edmond Dédé’s “Morgiane.” The cast features sopranos Mary Elizabeth Williams and Lindsey Reynolds, tenor Chauncey Packer, baritone Joshua Conyers, bass-baritone Jonathan {…}

Apr 2, 2024

Opera Lafayette to Present ‘The Era of Madame de Maintenon’ to Close out 2023-24 Season

Opera Lafayette will close out its 2023-24 season with “The Era of Madame de Maintenon.” The showcase, scheduled for May 3 – 9, 2024 in New York and Washington D.C., will explore the life and times of the last mistress and secret wife of Louis XIV. First up will be “Les Fêtes de Thalie” in Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center on {…}

Feb 9, 2024

OperaCréole & Opera Lafayette Featured on NBC Nightly News

(Photo credit: NBC) On Feb. 5, the NBC Nightly News ran a feature on OperaCréole and Opera Lafayette on their efforts to produce the earliest known opera by a Black American,”Morgiane.” NBC Nightly News traveled to New Orleans to film a segment on OperaCréole’s Artistic Director Givonna Joseph and her work to bring restorative justice to American opera through presentations {…}

Aug 23, 2023

Q & A: Opera Lafayette’s Ryan Brown & Patrick Quigley on Leading Company & Making the Transition to a New Future

Nearly thirty years ago, Ryan Brown created Opera Lafayette (OL), an organization dedicated to exploring baroque opera and its history via implementing period-instruments. But after being at the helm of the company and shepherding its growth into one of the major torchbearers for early opera performance tradition around the world, he’s decided to step away in 2025. In his place {…}

Aug 22, 2023

Opera Lafayette Unveils 2023-24 Season, ‘Era of Madame de Maintenon’

Opera Lafayette has unveiled its 2023-24 season, titled “Era of Madame de Maintenon.” It all kicks off with “Couperin le Grand” at The Kennedy Center and the Kosciuszko Foundation. The concert, which features music by Couperin, will be headlined by conductor Christophe Rousset, bass-baritone Jonathan Woody, and violinist Jacob Ashworth. Performance Dates: Oct. 25 (DC), Oct. 26 (NYC) Next up is {…}