# Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels' Omar at War Memorial Opera House, November 7, 2023

[San Francisco Opera](https://www.sfopera.com/operas/omar/) presents Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels' _Omar_  
[War Memorial Opera House](http://sfopera.com/)  
[San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-4509 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=San+Francisco+War+Memorial+Performing+Arts+Center,+301+Van+Ness+Avenue,+San+Francisco,+CA+94102-4509+USA&hl=en)  
7:30 PM, Tuesday, November 7, 2023

[[2023-11-05|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#November_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-11-10|On to the next event!]]

## Act One

[7:30 PM] {lights down; pre-recorded welcome; concert tuning}  
[7:31 PM] {applause for JK entrance}

01. [7:32 PM] _Overture_
02. [7:37 PM] Scene One: 1806, Futa Toro (a region of West Africa now part of Senegal)
03. [7:53 PM] Scene Two: The Middle Passage
04. [8:05 PM] Scene Three: The Charleston Slave Market
05. [8:22 PM] Scene Four: Johnson plantation
06. [8:32 PM] Scene Five: Johnson plantation, five months later  
[8:41 PM] {Act One ends}

## Act Two

[9:06 PM] {concert tuning; lights down; applause for JK entrance}

01. [9:07 PM] Scene One: Fayetteville County Jail
02. [9:25 PM] Scene Two: Owen plantation
03. [9:47 PM] Scene Three: Owen’s study
04. [9:52 PM] Scene Four (Omar reading under a tree)
05. [10:03 PM] Scene Five (Julie & Omar)  
[10:28 PM] {Act Two ends}  
[10:30 PM] {show ends}

## Performers

### Omar_cast

* [Barry Banks](https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/barry-banks): _Auctioneer_, _Taylor_, tenor vox;
* [Norman Garrett](https://imgartists.com/roster/norman-garrett/): Omar's Brother _Abdul_, _Abe_, baritone vox;
* [Laura Krumm](http://laurakrumm.com/): _Eliza_, mezzo-soprano vox;
* [Jamez McCorkle](https://mwamanagement.com/jamez-mccorkle): _Omar_, tenor vox;
* Jermaine McGhee: _Ancestral Figure_ (dancer);
* [Daniel Okulitch](http://www.danielokulitch.com/): _Johnson_, _Owen_, bass-baritone vox;
* [Taylor Raven](https://www.taylorraven.com/): Omar's Mother _Fatima_, mezzo-soprano vox;
* [Brittany Renee](https://www.brittanyreneesoprano.com/): _Julie_;
* [Rehanna Thelwell](https://rehannathelwell.wixsite.com/mezzosoprano): _Katie Ellen_, _Caller_, mezzo-soprano vox;
* Sydnee Turrentine-Johnson: ?, soprano vox.

### Omar_team

* [Michael Abels](https://michaelabels.com/): composer;
* Kiara Benn: choreographer;
* [Rhiannon Giddens](http://rhiannongiddens.com/): composer, librettist;
* [April M. Hickman](https://aprilmhickman.com/): co-costume designer;
* [Joshua Higgason](http://www.joshuahiggason.net/): projection designer;
* [John Keene](https://www.john-keene.com/): chorus director;
* [John Kennedy](http://johnkennedymusic.com/): conductor;
* [Christopher Myers](https://www.kalyban.com/): production designer;
* Amy Rubin: set designer;
* Micheline Russell-Brown: co-costume designer;
* [Pablo Santiago](https://www.pablosantiagodesign.com/): lighting designer;
* [Kaneza Schaal](http://kanezaschaal.com/): director.
 
## Notes


{{:wip.png?nolink}}  **Whoa!**  This section is incomplete for now, sorry! {{:wip.png?nolink}}

[Program Notes](https://sfopera.encoreplus.app/c/omar/feed?postTypeId=whatsNew) or {{:2023:2023-11:20231107pn.pdf|program notes}}

Joshua Kosman posted a [promo/Q&A](https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/classical/rhiannon-giddens-omar-silkroad-18457912) article with Rhiannon Giddens for the SF Chronicle, and followed it with a lukewarm [review](https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/classical/sf-opera-omar-rhiannon-gidden-18360754) once the opera opened.

Lisa Hirsch opted for a more positive [review](https://www.sfcv.org/articles/review/omar-triumphs-again-its-san-francisco-opera-premiere) in her critique for SFCV.

Lily O'Brien posted an [interview](https://www.sfcv.org/articles/artist-spotlight/omar-hits-close-home-mezzo-soprano-taylor-raven) with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven for SFCV.

{{tag>music War_Memorial_Opera_House Jamez_McCorkle Brittany_Renee Taylor_Raven Daniel_Okulitch Norman_Garrett Laura_Krumm Rehanna_Thelwell Barry_Banks Rhiannon_Giddens Michael_Abels John_Kennedy Kaneza_Schaal Kiara_Benn Christopher_Myers Amy_Rubin April_M._Hickman Micheline_Russell-Brown Pablo_Santiago Joshua_Higgason John_Keene}}

[[2023-11-05|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#November_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-11-10|On to the next event!]]