The King of Ragtime comes to Orlando

Considered by many to be America’s first pop star, Scott Joplin’s immortal piano solo “The Entertainer” lives rent-free in our collective consciousness thanks not only to its now ubiquitous presence in film but also, more importantly, to its iconic and catchy opening lines. And yet, much of Scott Joplin’s music and work was lost after his death, including his equally tuneful and iconic opera Treemonisha which was not fully produced until over 50 years after his death. Be a part of history by attending the Florida premiere of this joyous work presented by Opera Orlando on May 16 thru 18 at the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater at Dr. Phillips Center. 

Scott Joplin was raised in a musical family of railway laborers in Texarkana, Texas. During the late 1880s, he traveled the American South as a musician and in 1893 he went to Chicago for the World's Fair which helped make ragtime a national craze by 1897. His "Maple Leaf Rag" in 1899 brought him fame and a steady income which led him to move to St. Louis where he scored his first opera, A Guest of Honor. In 1907, Joplin moved to New York City to hopefully find a producer for a new opera, Treemonisha. Unable to find a publisher, Joplin undertook the financial burden of publishing Treemonisha himself in piano-vocal format and in 1915, as a last-ditch effort to see it performed, he invited a small audience to hear it at a rehearsal hall in Harlem. Joplin died shortly after in 1917 marking the end of the ragtime era and Treemonisha was “forgotten” until the 1970s when Joplin's music was rediscovered and returned to popularity with the release of a million-selling album recorded by Joshua Rifkin. This was followed by the Academy Award–winning 1973 film The Sting, which featured several of Joplin's compositions including “The Entertainer.” The score to Treemonisha was also rediscovered at this time with some of Joplin’s orchestration sketches. Excerpts from the opera were performed in 1971 at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the work was presented in its entirety in 1972 as a  concert performance in Atlanta, Georgia by the Afro-American Music Workshop of Morehouse College and the Atlanta Symphony under conductor Robert Shaw. It was staged and choreographed by dancer and director Katherine Dunham and was orchestrated by scholar Dr. T.J. Anderson. The opera was fully produced for the first time in 1975 by Houston Grand Opera with soprano Carmen Balthrop, who had just won the top prize in the New York Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, singing the title role. That production, orchestrated by Gunther Schuller, moved on to a Broadway production in 1976, where it played six previews and 54 performances at the Uris Theatre which led to Scott Joplin being awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for the work.

Treemonisha is often considered America’s first opera and features a tuneful score with a lively mix of ragtime, vaudeville, folk music, and grand opera. The work was truly ahead of its time with a similar work in terms of style and story Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess coming 25 years later in 1935. It is also the only opera in existence about the Reconstruction Era African-American experience in which Scott Joplin himself lived and breathed. The title character in Treemonisha is a young woman who leads her community against the influence of conjurers, who prey on ignorance and superstition. Through Treemonisha’s confrontation with the conjurers, the community realizes the value of education and Treemonisha leads them all into a bright and bountiful future of education, opportunity, and prosperity celebrated by a sumptuous finale number “A Real Slow Drag.” The opera serves as a life-affirming journey of family and community for us all.

“When Scott Joplin wrote Treemonisha over a century ago, he envisioned a world where a young Black woman, educated, principled, and courageous, could rise to lead her community out of fear and ignorance and into enlightenment and unity. That vision, though radical in 1911, remains profoundly relevant in 2025,” stated Treemonisha stage director Roberta Emerson. “In a time when Black women continue to stand at the frontlines, fighting for justice, equity, and representation, Treemonisha’s story feels less like a period piece and more like a mirror. She embodies the resilience of Black womanhood and the necessity of centering their leadership in movements for progress. This production celebrates that voice and amplifies it with urgency, clarity, and joy, bringing it directly to our doorstep by setting it in our very own Eatonville.” 

Roberta is joined by conductor Everett McCorvey for this production and a truly dynamite cast led by soprano Taylor-Alexis DuPont in the title role, tenor Leo Williams as Remus, bass baritone Lloyd Reshard, Jr. as Ned, and soprano NaGuanda Nobles as Monisha.

“We are humbled and honored to present the Florida premiere of Treemonisha and be a small part of its amazing and significant legacy in American opera,” stated Opera Orlando general director Gabriel Preisser. “It is a work that has been on our mind for some time and with the support of key partners such as the ZORA! Festival, the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and Bethune Cookman University we knew the time was right. The production will be further enhanced and guided by the support of local opera legend Curtis Rayam, who has served as an advisor on the production and who was the original Remus for the World Premiere of Treemonisha at Houston Grand Opera.”

TREEMONISHA
music + libretto by Scott Jolin
sung in English with English and Spanish supertitles

Friday  |  May 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday | May 17, 2025 at 2 p.m. + 7:30 p.m.
Sunday  |  May 18, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Opera Orlando concludes its 2024-25 Destiny + Desire Season with the Florida premiere of Scott Joplin’s Pulitzer Prize winning opera Treemonisha, America’s first opera and a true celebration of community and family.

age advisory: G

Estimated run time is one hour and 30 minutes with no intermission. A pre-show talk, free for all ticket holders, will be held on stage 50 minutes prior to each performance. The theater will be in a thrust configuration, with seating on three sides.

Treemonisha is graciously supported by the Universal Orlando Foundation and presented in partnership with ZORA! Festival, the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and Bethune Cookman University. Treemonisha stage director, Roberta Emerson, is a recipient of the OPERA America 2024 Opera Grant for Women Stage Directors and Conductors. Generously supported by the Marineau Family Foundation.

Individual tickets for Treemonisha start at just $49 and are on sale now exclusively through the Dr. Phillips Center’s Bill & Mary Darden Box Office (445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando), online at www.DrPhillipsCenter.org, or by calling (407) 358-6603. 

See YOU at the Opera!

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About Opera Orlando:     Celebrating, expanding, and sharing the world’s greatest art form, the 2024-25 season will mark Opera Orlando’s ninth season producing high-quality operatic entertainment and educational programs that engage Central Florida audiences.

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