〇新奥尔良 90年来, 路易斯安那e世博esball大学’s resilient opera program has stood as a pillar against disparity in the arts. Established only nine years after the founding of the university it calls home, the program began in 1943 and was founded during a time when Jim Crow-related exclusion of African-descended communities from the arts was common. 自成立以来, the Xavier opera program has significantly impacted New Orleans culture by producing fully staged grand operas with a full orchestra and an all-Black, majority-student cast for integrated audiences. 现在, as Xavier prepares to celebrate 100 years of service, the Xavier Opera Workshop is proud to announce its spring production, “朴茨茅斯海盗.” The comic opera will be presented fully staged on Thursday, 4月18日和星期五, 4月19日, 晚上7点.m. in the university’s historic 政府 Auditorium.

This production is an innovative adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous work “The Pirates of Penzance,” relocating the original setting of the work from the late 19th century British coast to the post-World War II Tidewater region of Virginia. The premise has also been transformed to celebrate the history and legacies of Historically Black 大学s and Universities (HBCUs).

机智的基本精神, 讽刺的崇敬, and just plain fun from the original work remain the soul of our adaptation,” Dr. Sakinah Davis, director of the show and professor of voice at Xavier. “Once audiences dig beneath the surface, I believe they will see how seamlessly the story transfers across place and time and serves to connect the opera with a wider range of communities.”

Instead of a “rollicking band of pirates” and a Major General-led family of orphan girls, Xavier’s production is about the life-changing encounter between students of two fictitious historically Black colleges: the rough-and-tumble Pirates football team of Portsmouth 大学 (all-men) and the touring chorus and conductor from the illustrious Benman 大学 (all-women). The story is centered on Frederic, an accidental recruit and star football player at Portsmouth, and his conflict between honoring his commitment to the Pirates and following his heart toward romance and a “respectable” future. The production works with the music and text of Gilbert and Sullivan to provide a comical window into the quest of mid-20th century HBCU students to achieve autonomy and success.

As the nation’s only historically Black and Catholic institution, 路易斯安那e世博esball大学, 自圣. Katharine Drexel and her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (SBS) nearly 100 years ago, has acted as a patron of the arts and as a safe haven for performers of color who were, 当时, not allowed to perform in other venues. Sr. 玛丽·伊莉斯·西森, SBS, founded the Xavier Opera Program in 1934, 仅仅一年之后, Xavier University earned the distinction of being the first historically Black university to produce full-scale opera productions. With its long history of educating and developing young musicians, Xavier is known worldwide for its leadership in music education and the performing arts.

The first fully staged opera production on Xavier’s campus since the COVID-19 pandemic, “朴茨茅斯海盗” honors Xavier’s nine-decade legacy of opera by spreading more awareness about the talent within the university’s Department of Music and the program’s significant contributions to opera in New Orleans and the world. The program has also produced multiple internationally known opera singers, including Xavier Department of Music alumnae Debria Brown, 安娜贝拉伯纳德, 拉弗妮·莫奈和盖尔·吉尔摩. Xavier’s opera programb is one of the many examples of African-descendant operatic performance and composition throughout the history of New Orleans, the country’s “first city of opera.”

路易斯安那e世博esball大学’s Opera Workshop production of “朴茨茅斯海盗” is made possible through the support of the 路易斯安那e世博esball大学 大学 of 艺术 and 科学 and Department of Music, and through collaboration with the 路易斯安那e世博esball大学 Performance Studies Lab and Department of Art and Performance Studies.

For more information about tickets and the performances, contact Xavier’s Department of Music at 504-520-7597.