Rhiannon Giddens opera: Omar

[cbabe]

https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/us-omar-ibn-said-slavery-opera-story-islamic-scholar

Omar: The opera that tells the story of an enslaved Islamic scholar

Omar ibn Said wrote an Arabic autobiography during his enslavement in the US that is the inspiration for a new production
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Charleston, South Carolina, was one such port, with over 100,000 West Africans being shipped there. On one of those ships was Omar Ibn Said, a 37-year-old Islamic scholar of Fulani descent.

His story is less well-known than that of abolitionists and former slaves, such as Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglass. However, a new opera attempts to rectify this and bring his narrative to light.

Named Omar, it follows Ibn Said's spiritual journey from Futa Toro, a desert region between present-day Mauritania and Senegal, through his enslavement in North Carolina under a man called ‘Johnson’ and later by General James Owen of Bladen county.
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More… long read…
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My Comments:

Estimated over 30% of enslaved Africans were literate Muslims. Omar was a Koranic scholar. His autobiography written in Arabic is the basis for Rhiannon Giddens’ new opera ‘Omar’.

Rhiannon is known for her country/bluegrass/early American music but began her career in opera. She is also a MacArthur genius grant recipient.

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Rhiannon Giddens: "Julie" (original)

First sung in public at the invitation of Peggy Seeger.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/tuesday-may-31-2022-rhiannon-giddens-tablo-1.6471119

Rhiannon interview with Tom Powers/Q on the morning of ‘Omar’ premier.