premiered works
INDEPENDENCE EVE
Music by sidney marquez boquiren
Libretto by daniel neer
Independence eve
Developed in The American Opera Project's First Chance and Composers & the Voice programs, Independence Eve is a chamber opera in three scenes by composer Sidney Marquez Boquiren and librettist Daniel Neer. It explores the troubled and intricate journey of race relations in America across 100 years. Each of the three scenes take place on July 3, and on a benign park bench in three different, unspecified American cities and focuses on the stories of a black male and a white male, who struggle with identity and acceptance amidst race issues, offering commentary on trace relations throughout American history.
Independence Eve focuses on the stories of three black males (baritone), and three white males (tenor), who struggle with identity and acceptance amidst race issues that span one hundred years of the American experience. Taking place on the benign location of a single park bench in three different urban locations, Independence Eve is a study of black and white America, offering commentary on the intricacies of race relations and the insidious and persistent stain of racism that has remained consistent throughout American history.
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“Opera doesn’t need to be obviously relevant to be important. But when one does take on a particularly topical subject, it’s nice to see it doing it justice.”
“There’s a lot packed into this small, punchy piece… Opera doesn’t need to be obviously relevant to be important. But when one does take on a particularly topical subject, it’s nice to see it doing it justice.”
—The Washington Post
"It’s magical… the piece is thoughtful, tender and infinitely musical. Daniel Neer, the librettist, concentrates on the relationships, not the politics…"
—DC Theatre Scene
"This is compact opera that lays social concerns at your feet."
—DC Metro Theatre Arts
"Stop. Frisk. Sing."
—The New Yorker (profile)
Information
Duration 60', each act/scene approx. 20’ / no intermission
Commission Independence Eve was developed in AOP’s First Chance opera development program and Composers & the Voice training program, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Premiere June 3 – 11, 2017; Presented by UrbanArias. Signature Theatre, Washington DC. Brandon Snook (tenor), Jorell Williams (baritone), Robert Wood (conductor), Shaun Patrick Tubbs (director)
Publisher Staged performances of this work require licensing through the composer.