AOI / 20min opera / OSHUN

Composer: B. E. Boykin

Librettist: Jarrod Lee

Commissioned by the Washington National Opera for the 2022-2023

American Opera Initiative (AOI)

WNO’s acclaimed commissioning program for contemporary American opera enters its tenth exciting season.

This season, three talented composer-librettist teams—B.E. Boykin and Jarrod Lee, Jens Ibsen and Cecelia Raker, and Silen Wellington and Walken Schweigert—showcase their three new one-act operas.

American Opera Initiative (AOI) mentorship is led by newly appointed AOI Artistic Advisor and librettist Kelley Rourke, librettist and filmmaker Kimberly Reed, composer Carlos Simon, and WNO Principal Conductor Evan Rogister, who will lead a chamber orchestra of WNO Orchestra members. The concert staging will be directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello.

– Kennedy Center