Margaret Garner (opera)

Margaret Garner
Opera by Richard Danielpour
The opera's protagonist, Margaret Garner, in an 1867 painting by Thomas Satterwhite Noble
Librettist	Toni Morrison
Language	English
Premiere	7 May 2005 (2005-05-07) Detroit Opera House

Margaret Garner is an opera in two acts composed by Richard Danielpour to an English-language libretto by Toni Morrison. The opera is loosely based on actual events in the life of runaway slave Margaret Garner. A co-commission by the Michigan Opera Theatre, Cincinnati Opera and Opera Philadelphia, it premièred on 7 May 2005 at the Detroit Opera House in Detroit, Michigan with Denyce Graves in the title role.

Morrison previously used the historic Margaret Garner as the inspiration for her novel Beloved. This is one of a few operas written about the African-American experience; other notable examples are George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1935) and Scott Joplin's Treemonisha (1910/1972).

The opera explores themes of freedom and personal and community relationships, and makes some use of the African-American musical tradition of spirituals. It was the first libretto for the author and the first opera for the composer. Danielpour began work on the opera in 1998. The opera premièred on May 7, 2005 in Detroit; it was performed in Cincinnati in July 2005, and Philadelphia in February 2006. The three companies spent more than $2 million on the opera.Denyce Graves sang the title role in the premiere run, which featured a cast of nearly one hundred, flaming torches, a hanging on stage, and black-powder pistols. The opera requires a large cast because of the requirement for separate African and Caucasian choruses to portray the slaves and slave-owners. Other members of the initial cast were Angela M. Brown as Cilla, Gregg Baker as Robert Garner, Rod Gilfry as Edward Gaines, Roger Honeywell as the Auctioneer and John Mac Master as Casey. Kenny Leon directed. Jessye Norman was originally cast as Cilla but withdrew and was replaced by Brown.