Frederick Douglass (Ulysses Kay opera)

Opera by Ulysses Kay

Frederick Douglass

Opera by Ulysses Kay

Frederick Douglass, the opera's protagonist

Librettist| Donald Dorr
Premiere|

12 April 1991 (1991-04-12)

Newark, New Jersey

Frederick Douglass is an opera in three acts composed by Ulysses Kay to a libretto by Donald Dorr. Its story is a semi-fictionalized account of the final years in the life of Frederick Douglass after his marriage to his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass. The opera premiered on April 12, 1991, at Newark Symphony Hall performed by the New Jersey State Opera in a production directed by Louis Johnson and designed by Salvatore Tagliarino.[1][2]

## Background

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In 1978 it was announced that both Kay and Dorr received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts to work on the opera.[3] Dorr and Kay worked on the opera beginning in 1979 and completed it in 1985.[1]

## Roles

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Role  | Voice type  | Premiere cast
April 12, 1991
(Cond. Alfredo Silipigni)[4]

|
|

Frederick Douglass | bass | Kevin Maynor
Helen, (Helen Pitts Douglass), his wife | soprano | Klara Barlow
Howard, Douglass's son | tenor | Gregory Rahming
Aubrey, a young officer | tenor  | Ronald Naldi
Senator Norton  | baritone | Mark Delavan
Busby, a merchant | tenor  | Mark Nicolson
Demler, a newsman | tenor  | Kirk Redmann
Secretary Welles  | bass-baritone | Kenneth Church
Major Domo  | bass-baritone  | Richard McKee
Mrs. Sly, a guest |  | Jennifer Gucci
Mrs. Pry, a guest | soprano  | Tracy Magliaro
Agnes, a servant | soprano  | Christine D'Amico
Timothy, her lover | tenor  | Tony Buonauro

## References

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1. ^ a b Hobson & Richardson 1994, p. 72.
2. ^ Abdul 1991, p. 30.
3. ^ Anon. 1978.
4. ^ Anon. 1991.

## Sources

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* Abdul, Raoul (April 27, 1991). "Ulysses Kay's opera, Frederick Douglass, Makes Makes Impact: Reading the Score". New York Amsterdam News. New York.
* Anon. (July 15, 1978). "Dorr Gets Grant". New Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh. p. 19.
* Anon. (April 12, 1991). "Frederick Douglass (program for the world premiere)". Newark, New Jersey.
* Hobson, Constance Tibbs; Richardson, Deborra A. (1994). Ulysses Kay: A Bio-Bibliography. Bio-Bibliographies in Music. Vol. 53\. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313255466. OCLC 55741536.

## Further reading

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* "American Composer Update". Pan Pines of Sigma Alpha Iota. 84 (Winter). Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Company: 32. 1992. ISSN 0889-7581. OCLC 609939631.
* Holland, Bernard (April 16, 1991). "The Struggles of a Black Leader in Old America: An operatic life of Frederick Douglass". The New York Times. p. C11.
* Kyle, Margaret Kelly (1979). "AmerAllegro". Pan Pines of Sigma Alpha Iota. 71 (Winter). Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Company: 36. ISSN 0889-7581. OCLC 609939631.
* Wright, Josephine R. B. (1984). "New Music". The Black Perspective in Music. 12 (1: Spring). Cambria Heights, NY: Foundation for Research in the Afro-American Creative Arts: 143. JSTOR 1214977. OCLC 300234860.

* v
* t
* e

Ulysses Kay

Operas|

* The Juggler of Our Lady (1962)
* The Boor (1968)
* The Capitoline Venus (1971)
* Jubilee (1976)
* Frederick Douglass (1991)

* v
* t
* e

Frederick Douglass

Autobiographies|

* Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845)
* My Bondage and My Freedom (1855)
* Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881)

Newspapers|

* The North Star

Fiction|

* The Heroic Slave, a heartwarming Narrative of the Adventures of Madison Washington, in Pursuit of Liberty (1852)

Speeches|

* American Anti-Slavery Society 1843 lecture tour
* "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" (1852)
* "The Constitution of the United States: is it pro-slavery or anti-slavery?" (1860)
* "Self-Made Men" (1885)

Life|

* Seneca Falls Convention
* Fugitive Slave Convention
* Equal Rights Party (1872 vice presidential nominee)
* Douglass Place
* Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (home and memorial)

Honors|

* List of things named after Frederick Douglass
* U.S. Capitol statue
* Frederick Douglass Memorial
* Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
* Douglass–Anthony Memorial Bridge
* Frederick Douglass Circle
* Douglass Park
* Frederick Douglass Memorial Park
* University of Maryland statue
* Rochester statue
* Denver statue
* Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum
* Washington, D.C. neighborhood

Family|

* Anna Murray Douglass (first wife)
* Helen Pitts Douglass (second wife)
* Rosetta Douglass (daughter)
* Lewis Henry Douglass (son)
* Charles Remond Douglass (son)
* Joseph Douglass (grandson)
* Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry (granddaughter)

Related|

* African American founding fathers of the United States
* Frederick Douglass (1985 opera)
* Frederick Douglass (1991 opera)
* Frederick Douglass and the White Negro (2008 documentary)
* The Good Lord Bird (2020 miniseries)
* John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
* Nathan and Mary Johnson home
* Shields Green

Portal:

* Opera

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