Contributed
Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) invite the public to preview two new operas-in-progress this fall as part of their dynamic creative partnership, Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW). OF:NW offers composers and librettists the opportunity to refine their pieces through Cincinnati-based workshops, culminating in public performances of excerpts that provide audiences with a unique glimpse into the development process.
The first work to be featured is John Lewis: Good Trouble, with a public preview on Saturday, October 11 at 2 p.m. It will be followed by Sleepers Awake, with a public presentation of excerpts on Saturday, November 8 at 2 p.m. Both events will take place at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Wilks Studio (1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202). Tickets are $15 for adults and free for full-time students (one ticket per valid student ID) and may be reserved at cincinnatiopera.org or by calling 513-241-2742 (M-F, 12-5 p.m.).
John Lewis: Good Trouble
Inspired by the life and legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis, the opera honors his tireless fight for justice and equality as an inspiring champion of Civil Rights. Commissioned by Cincinnati Opera, the work is the second to be developed through the company’s groundbreaking Black Opera Project and will receive its world premiere at Cincinnati Music Hall during Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Summer Festival.
Sleepers Awake
In Sleepers Awake, composer Gregory Spears, whose operas Fellow Travelers (2016) and Castor and Patience (2022) were both commissioned and premiered by Cincinnati Opera, creates a labyrinthine soundscape to accompany a dream-like rendering of the fairytale “Sleeping Beauty,” inspired by modernist writer Robert Walser. As the chorus sings itself in and out of slumber, the voices pull us into a liminal space where time is both fractured and cyclical. Conceived with and directed by Jenny Koons, Sleepers Awake was commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, where it will receive its world premiere in April 2026.
Event Information
- Opera Fusion: New Works presents John Lewis: Good Trouble—Saturday, October 11, 2 p.m., Wilks Studio at Cincinnati Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Opera Fusion: New Works presents Sleepers Awake—Saturday, November 8, 2 p.m., Wilks Studio at Cincinnati Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Tickets: $15 for adults; free for full-time students (one ticket per valid student ID)
- Order at cincinnatiopera.org or 513-241-2742