Singing a New Song
Lalovavi is the first work in Cincinnati Opera’s groundbreaking, three-opera commissioning initiative, The Black Opera Project.
As the second-oldest opera company in the country, Cincinnati Opera also has had its share of first. With The Black Opera Project, it’s launching another bold initiative, developing new works that celebrate Black stories.
The first program of its kind, the Black Opera Project seeks to illuminate the resilient spirit and vibrant heritage of the Black American experience.
“The launch of The Black Opera Project marks the fruition of dreams long held by Black artists like me,” says Morris Robinson, world-renowned bass and Cincinnati Opera artistic advisor “While I was singing the title role in ‘Porgy and Bess’ in 2019, Cincinnati Opera leaders invited my fellow cast members and me into a conversation about opera’s future.”
The project is also the outgrowth of Cincinnati Opera’s previously announced grant from the Mellon Foundation to support the development of three fully staged, full-length operas. The Opera currently has a fundraising goal for the end of August, either in pledges or direct gifts, to raise additional funds for the first opera of the The Black Opera Project, Lavovavi.
Set 400 years into the future, Lalovavi is an Afrofuturist adventure that follows Persephone, the youngest daughter of the ruler of Atlas, the city formerly known as Atlanta. Currency and status in Atlas are determined based on the presence of Syndica, a gene that promotes vitality and longevity. When Persephone is found to possess a version of Syndica that confers immortality, she is betrayed by her family and must run for her life. She is thrust into an epic journey, uncovering a hidden past that leads her to discover love’s true meaning and the power to determine her destiny.
“I asked, ‘When is there going to be an opera that has the same impact on the operatic stage that the movie ‘Black Panther’ had on the big screen?’,” Robinson says. “We knew there was a critical need to create and develop works that represented the vastness and beauty of the African American experience.”
Tickets for Lalovavi are available now as part of a 2026 Summer Festival. Tickets to individual performances go on sale Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.
The second opera in The Black Opera Project, John Lewis: Good Trouble, will receive its world premiere during Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Summer Festival. Based on the life of U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, the opera features music by Maria Thompson Corley, libretto by Diana Solomon-Glover, and stage direction and dramaturgy by Timothy Douglas.