"Treemonisha", Luminato Festival 2023, Toronto, ON

I volunteered with the Luminato Festival this evening as a theatre wayfinder at Treemonisha at the St. Lawrence Centre.

Originally written by Scott Joplin (c. 1911), "Treemonisha" is one of the few pieces set soon after the abolition of slavery, written by a survivor of that era. 

Fusing European classical music with the sounds of ragtime, folk, and gospel to create a thrilling and distinct sound, and introducing a young woman protagonist chosen by her community to lead, Joplin’s nearly-lost opera was far ahead of its time. 

This reimagined version tells a revolutionary story of a young Black woman who, in discovering the truth of her past, and overcoming enormous personal loss, discovers her power to unify a divided people, and lead her community towards a new future.

We volunteers were able to watch it. Yay! It was my first opera and I enjoyed it. It was a great story and the singing was amazing.

I took lots of pictures for people in front of this photo opp so asked someone to take mine.