MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE’S
FALL OPERA SEASON OPENS WITH
MARGARET GARNER
Oct. 18-25, 2008
At the Detroit Opera House

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Groundbreaking Opera Makes Triumphant Return

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DETROIT, Michigan, September 12, 2008...Michigan Opera Theatre opens its 2008 fall opera season, made possible by Ford Motor Company, with the triumphant return of Margaret Garner, October 18-25, 2008 at the Detroit Opera House. The product of an unprecedented collaboration between Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, the opera made its world premiere at the Detroit Opera House in May 2005 to international critical acclaim and sold-out performances. Based on one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America, the opera recounts the compelling, tragic, and inspiring story of Margaret Garner’s quest for freedom.

Since Margaret Garner made its highly-publicized world premiere in Detroit in 2005, the opera was performed by project co-commissioners Opera Company of Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera, as well as by New York City Opera and Opera Carolina. Following the five performances in Detroit, Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of Margaret Garner will tour to Roosevelt University in Chicago for five performances at the Auditorium Theatre, November 1-9, 2008.

Margaret Garner is inspired by the true story of an enslaved family’s quest for freedom. Fleeing Richwood, Kentucky’s Maplewood Farm to Cincinnati Ohio in 1856, Margaret Garner made the horrific decision to sacrifice her own children when capture was at hand, rather than see them returned to the bonds of slavery. Her trial resulted in a major legal debate about whether she should be charged with murder or “destruction of property.” The Garner trial addressed crucial issues in constitutional law and posed key questions at the core of the rift in the Union during the pre-Civil War era.

Many of the artists who created the roles for the world premere in 2005 are returning to Detroit in 2008. Alternating in the title role of Margaret Garner are Denyce Graves (18, 22, 25), who created the role in the world premiere performances, and Tracie Luck (19, 24) who created the role for the New York City Opera production. Reprising the role he created for the 2005 world premiere is Gregg Baker (18, 22, 25) as Robert Garner, who alternates in the role with Patrick Blackwell (19, 24), who made his professional debut in the world premiere of Amistad at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1997. The role of Cilla will be alternately sung by two sopranos making their MOT debuts, Karen Slack and Mary Elizabeth Williams. The role of plantation owner Edward Gaines will be alternately performed by James Westman (18, 22, 25) and Timothy Mix (19, 24).

Returning to direct the production is acclaimed Broadway director Kenny Leon, whose most recent Tony Award-winning project includes A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway with Phylicia Rashad and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. Critically-acclaimed conductor Stefan Lano also revisits Margaret Garner to conduct the return engagement in 2008. As in the 2005 premiere, the 2008 performances will feature detailed sets by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg and fantastic period costumes by Paul Tazewell.

TICKETS for Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of Margaret Garner at the magnificent Detroit Opera House range from $28-$120, and are available at the Detroit Opera House ticket office (1526 Broadway, Detroit, 48226), by phone at (313) 237-SING (7464) and online at www.MichiganOpera.org. Tickets are also available at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at (248) 645-6666 or online at www.TicketMaster.com.

Contact

Rebekah Johnson
(313) 237-3403
rjohnson@motopera.org

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