Tom Fudge: If you think Omaha, Nebraska is an unlikely place to be a hotbed for new opera, think again. Omaha's opera company has commissioned and premiered seven new operas in the past 15 years. And one that opened last month has a San Diego connection.
The new opera is called Wakonda's Dream . It's based on the story of Ponca Indian Chief Standing Bear. And the music for it was written by Anthony Davis, who is a music professor at UCSD. Davis is a pianist and he's known as a jazz musician. But he has written five operas.
What's more, Wakonda's Dream involves another member of the Davis family. Anthony's 9-year-old son, Jonah, performs one of the roles. Anthony and Jonah Davis join me now in the KPBS performance studio.
Guests
- Anthony Davis has composed five operas, his latest is the opera Wakonda's Dream , which he wrote for Opera Omaha. He is also a pianist and a professor of music at UCSD.
- Jonah Davis is Anthony's 9-year-old-son and performs the character of Jason in Wakonda's Dream . He is also a pianist and sings with the San Diego Children's Choir.
End Music: Quintet in C Minor-Allegro by W.A. Mozart, from the recording by Josef Suk Smetana Quartet (1984)
