Rhiannon Giddens was on CBS Sunday Morning to talk with correspondent Martha Teichner about Omar, the opera she wrote with Michael Abels, and which made its long-awaited world premiere earlier this year in Charleston, SC, at the Spoleto Festival USA. Omar is based on the life and autobiography of enslaved Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said, who was forcefully brought to Charleston, SC from Africa in 1807. “We need to know their stories,” says Giddens, “and then we know more about who we are now.” You can watch their conversation here:

Giddens, who also wrote the opera’s libretto, released her own recording of the song “Julie’s Aria” that is featured in the opera. The recording, made with guitarist Bill Frisell and her frequent collaborator Francesco Turrisi, can be heard here. (Giddens does not perform in the production of Omar).

Other major opera companies will perform Omar as well, including LA Opera in the fall of 2022 followed by Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, a co-producer of the work (Omar was previously scheduled to debut at Spoleto in 2020 but was postponed that year and again in 2021 due to the pandemic). Giddens worked on the score with composer Michael Abels, who is known for his work on Jordan Peele's films Get Out and Us.

OMAR PERFORMANCE DATES

RHIANNON GIDDENS ON TOUR