![]() ![]() ![]() While Joplin’s ingenious score has been rightfully lauded, critics and audiences have historically effused less praise for his libretto. The success of this “Treemonisha” begins with Canadian playwright Leah-Simone Bowen, who penned a new story to accompany Joplin’s music and co-wrote the libretto with Cheryl L. At the very least, director Weyni Mengesha’s landmark production proves the opera belongs among the seminal works of the modern era. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts.įeaturing a new libretto and a winning cast, this version of “Treemonisha” makes a strong case that it should be the definitive one. It’s taken another 50-odd years, however, for “Treemonisha” to come into its own.įor at Toronto’s Luminato Festival, Joplin’s long-forgotten masterpiece has been ravishingly reborn for the 21st century in a triumphant production that opened Saturday at the St. Only in 1972, some five decades after Joplin’s death in 1917, was the opera first staged. ![]() Yet his multiple attempts to mount the opera were futile. The King of Ragtime’s 1911 composition is arguably his most enterprising work, a foray into grand opera that draws on classical music influences along with folk, blues and his signature ragtime style. That Scott Joplin never lived to see a fully staged production of “Treemonisha” is one of the greatest blights in American music. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. By Scott Joplin, with a new story and libretto by Leah-Simone Bowen and Cheryl L. ![]()
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