"Inspired by bluegrass, hymns, spirituals and more, with nods to traditions from Africa and Islam. It’s an unforced ideal of American sound: expansive and ever-changing." New York Times

In 1807, 37-year-old Omar Ibn Said was made to board a ship bound for Charleston, South Carolina—the site of his enslavement and sale. Created by Giddens, the Grammy Award-winning musician and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and Abels, composer of the score to the Oscar-nominated film “Get Out,” the Boston Lyric Opera's New England premiere narrates Said’s 1831 autobiography. This record of his life and Muslim faith reveals a refusal to be defined or erased by his captors. It’s a seminal work of strength, resistance, and religious conviction—a work underscoring the indelible power of the written word.

During this special evening with the Boston Lyric Opera, audience members will get an inside look into Omar through conversation and excerpts performed by Brianna J. Robinson, Fred C. VanNess, Jr., and Brendon Shapiro, alongside additional repertoire from the operatic tradition to which this striking new work adds.