Meet the Artists of Omar

Welcome to CODA! Coda comes from the Latin word for “tail,” and in music, it indicates an additional passage at the end of a piece of music, a final flourish that compliments what’s come before. CODA goes beyond the curtain call to explore this unique and astonishing art form. Whether you’re a first-time opera-goer or a seasoned audience member, CODA is for you. Biweekly, we’ll enhance your experience of opera with behind-the-scenes highlights, educational articles, listening lists, and much, much more!?

This May, Boston Lyric Opera is proud to present the New England premiere of Omar, the new opera from Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. The work is based on Omar ibn Said’s autobiography and the biography by Ala Alryyes, A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar ibn Said. Omar guides audiences through his childhood, eventual enslavement, and his work as a Muslim scholar and theologian.?

This week, we want to introduce you to four of the singing artists who will be helping us bring this story to our stage. We can’t wait for you to see what they’re creating in person!?

Jamez McCorkle

Tenor James McCorkle reprises his role as Omar ibn Said after critically acclaimed performances at Spoleto Festival USA in 2022 and LA Opera in 2023. This season, he returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper as the Duke of Cornwall in Lear, to Spoleto Festival for an innovative performance of Schumann’s Dichterliebe, and joins the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, conducted by Han-Na Chang. McCorkle looks forward to upcoming debuts with San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hamburg State Opera, the Royal Danish Theatre, and Opera Vlaanderen. McCorkle is an innate musician and trained pianist, and we are so happy to welcome him to Boston!?

Cierra Byrd

American mezzo-soprano Cierra Byrd makes her Boston debut as Fatima, Omar’s mother. A third-year member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, the Ohio native made her Metropolitan Opera debut last fall in Fire Shut Up In My Bones. During the Met’s 2022/23 season, she will sing a Woman of Crete in Idomeneo and cover the role of Sister Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites. Recent operatic appearances include the Governess in The Queen of Spades at Des Moines Metro Opera, Lady Catherine De Bourgh in the stage premiere of Kirke Mechem’s Pride and Prejudice at Peabody Opera Theatre, and the Witch in H?nsel und Gretel at Opera Saratoga. We are thrilled to have this exciting young singer grace our stage.?

Daniel Okulitch

Bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch joins us as James Owen/Johnson, a role he originated and performed at Spoleto Festival USA and LA Opera. Displaying an innate connection to the music of our time, Okulitch has created several principal characters, most notably Ennis del Mar in Charles Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain at Teatro Real in Madrid, Seth Brundle in Howard Shore’s The Fly at Paris’ Théatre de Chatelet and LA Opera, Mark Rutland in Nico Muhly’s Marnie at English National Opera, and LBJ in David T Little’s JFK at Fort Worth Opera and Opéra de Montréal. Okulitch has been lauded as “flat out brilliant” by Opera News, and we can’t wait to see that brilliance on display in Omar.

Lauren Michelle

You may remember soprano Lauren Michelle from her touching portrayal of Mimì in our fall production of La bohème, and we are thrilled to have her back at BLO as Julie in Omar! Michelle is an internationally recognized opera singer and has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious organizations, including Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, La Scala, and Carnegie Hall. She was a prizewinner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and has been awarded first prize in both the Lotte Lenya Competition and the Marcello Giordani International Vocal Competition. Welcome back to Boston, Lauren!

Rounding out the cast is Neal Ferreira as the Auctioneer/Taylor, Emma Sorenson as Eliza, Catherine Daniel as Katie Ellen/The Caller, Nicholas LaGesse as Abdul/Abe, and Fred C. VanNess Jr. as Amadou-Renty.?

Join us May 4-7 at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre for an unforgettable performance of Omar, a new opera from Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. Tickets are on sale now!

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