Seattle Opera Presents JUBILEE — Preview

A spokesperson describes the event as follows:

“... Jubilee tells the story of a group of Black American singers who brought African American spirituals to audiences around the world, forever changing the trajectory of music history.

"With a score comprising over 40 spirituals, from “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Wade in the Water” to “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” and “Balm in Gilead,” the opera follows the Fisk Jubilee Singers as they embark on their first tours, raising money for the fledgling Fisk University. Founded just after Emancipation and the American Civil War, the university offered education and empowerment to newly freed Black Americans. The ensemble served as ambassadors and fundraisers, performing for audiences and dignitaries across the United States and Europe, including Queen Victoria, Mark Twain, and President Ulysses S. Grant, establishing a legacy that continues to the present day.

“Spirituals formed the foundation of gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and even hip-hop – and the Jubilees introduced this music to the world,” said Thompson, who began studying and collecting spirituals over 30 years ago. “Their fundraising concerts were also directly responsible for the survival of one of America’s earliest Black universities. The Jubilees put their lives on the line quite literally, going without food, freezing in the winter, suffering from illness and violent hostility on a punishing tour schedule – because they knew that education was the path to real power and lasting freedom.”

Thanks to the resilience and dedication of these young musicians, Fisk University still exists today, having educated generations of Black Americans, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, John Lewis, Nikki Giovanni, and Roland Hayes. Such iconic names are known now, in part, because the Jubilees’ success helped challenge prevailing racial stereotypes and shift perceptions about Black culture and talent. Their performances also showed the world that spirituals were a legitimate art form, deserving of the same level of artistic excellence as European classical music.

“Every student at Fisk University learns the history of their school – they are taught that each brick was sung into existence,” said Lisa Arrindell, who plays the pivotal role of Ella Sheppard, the group’s de facto leader. “But elsewhere in our America, the Jubilees’ story has been left in the dark. I want African Americans to know, viscerally, that we come from a formidable history of stalwart creativity, fortitude, and excellence.”

Tazewell Thompson first encountered the Jubilee Singers through a PBS documentary that aired in 2000. He became obsessed with the spirituals they sang, collecting hundreds of books, scores, CDs, and records as he sought to understand why these songs mattered, and why they endured. By 2016, he knew the Jubilees’ story deserved an operatic telling. When a commission to write a theater piece arrived first, the story became an a cappella stage play, appearing at DC’s Arena Stage in 2019. This fall, Jubilee will finally be premiered in its full operatic form on the mainstage of Seattle Opera – a particularly meaningful tribute to the troupe of dedicated singers who demonstrated the artistic value of spirituals in concert halls around the world…"