Is opera for white people? What makes music “Black”? If jazz is Black American music, then why is every university jazz department run by white people? What difference can music make in the face of state violence? Does the sound of my voice matter and what do I sound like to others? In this book club we explore these questions and the history, politics, and liberatory legacies of Black music. Challenging the sonic color line that often defines genre, this event explores the power of music to either reproduce or destabilize violent categories of race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class. Hosted by Black Garnet Bookstore and led by Minnesota Opera’s Dr. Allison Lewis, together we will engage both fiction, non-fiction, and sound as we ask questions about the role music plays in liberation and how our own musical practices define our own identities.

Summer Session
June 21 – Jazz by Toni Morrison
July 19 – Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis
August 16 – Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andre
September 20 – Singing Like Germans: Black Musicians in the Land of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms by Kira Thurman

Is opera for white people? What makes music “Black”? If jazz is Black American music, then why is every university jazz department run by white people? What difference can music make in the face of state violence? Does the sound of my voice matter and what do I sound like to others? In this book club we explore these questions and the history, politics, and liberatory legacies of Black music. Challenging the sonic color line that often defines genre, this event explores the power of music to either reproduce or destabilize violent categories of race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class. Hosted by Black Garnet Bookstore and led by Minnesota Opera’s Dr. Allison Lewis, together we will engage both fiction, non-fiction, and sound as we ask questions about the role music plays in liberation and how our own musical practices define our own identities.

Summer Session
June 21 – Jazz by Toni Morrison
July 19 – Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis
August 16 – Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andre
September 20 – Singing Like Germans: Black Musicians in the Land of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms by Kira Thurman

Is opera for white people? What makes music “Black”? If jazz is Black American music, then why is every university jazz department run by white people? What difference can music make in the face of state violence? Does the sound of my voice matter and what do I sound like to others? In this book club we explore these questions and the history, politics, and liberatory legacies of Black music. Challenging the sonic color line that often defines genre, this event explores the power of music to either reproduce or destabilize violent categories of race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class. Hosted by Black Garnet Bookstore and led by Minnesota Opera’s Dr. Allison Lewis, together we will engage both fiction, non-fiction, and sound as we ask questions about the role music plays in liberation and how our own musical practices define our own identities.

Summer Session
June 21 – Jazz by Toni Morrison
July 19 – Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis
August 16 – Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andre
September 20 – Singing Like Germans: Black Musicians in the Land of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms by Kira Thurman

Is opera for white people? What makes music “Black”? If jazz is Black American music, then why is every university jazz department run by white people? What difference can music make in the face of state violence? Does the sound of my voice matter and what do I sound like to others? In this book club we explore these questions and the history, politics, and liberatory legacies of Black music. Challenging the sonic color line that often defines genre, this event explores the power of music to either reproduce or destabilize violent categories of race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class. Hosted by Black Garnet Bookstore and led by Minnesota Opera’s Dr. Allison Lewis, together we will engage both fiction, non-fiction, and sound as we ask questions about the role music plays in liberation and how our own musical practices define our own identities.

Summer Session
June 21 – Jazz by Toni Morrison
July 19 – Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis
August 16 – Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andre
September 20 – Singing Like Germans: Black Musicians in the Land of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms by Kira Thurman

For The Future of Opera 

Celebrate the beginning of a new season with a festive evening of music, dinner, and community at Minnesota Opera’s World Premiere Gala. This one-night-only event welcomes opera lovers from far and wide to gather in support of the artists, creatives, and company that produce this one-of-a-kind art form. With a cocktail reception, a specially curated meal, awards, premium access to the season-opening world premiere of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, and a lively after-party to close out the night, the evening offers an unforgettable experience for you and your guests – while securing a bright future for opera in Minnesota.

Secure your sponsorship by August 28.
Purchase your premium tickets by October 16.

Reincarnated. Resolute. Revolutionary.

When the goddess of Death is cast down to Earth to live as a mortal named Laila Starr, the boundaries between the divine and the human begin to blur in this vivid, transporting world premiere from Kamala Sankaram and Minita Gandhi. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr was commissioned and developed through Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel by Ram V and Filipe Andrade. Infused with elements of Konnakol, Raga, and EDM, this fantasy on purpose and impermanence unfolds with both kinetic energy and striking clarity, as a god made mortal begins to see the world—and life itself—through fresh eyes.

Sung in English with English captions projected above the stage.

Jealousy. Treachery. True love put to the test.

Prince Ariodante is set to marry his beloved Ginevra until scheming rivals threaten their joy. Deceptions abound and honor is called into question—will betrayal and shame consume the happy couple, or will truth and love prevail? From aching, heart-rending laments to dazzling displays of vocal virtuosity, Handel’s score traces a journey from devotion to heartbreak and back again.

Sung in Italian with English captions projected above the stage.

Everything in the world is a jest.

Enter Sir John Falstaff, whose predilections toward excess lead him into the delusional pursuit of not one, but two married women. Thus ensues a tangled web of plots and counterplots, full of hilarious misunderstandings, as more and more parties are swept into the pandemonium. A cinematic score from an operatic legend imbues this feel-good comedy with warmth and buoyancy.

Sung in Italian with English captions projected above the stage.

Subscription dates: May 8, 9, 13, & 15, 2027