QUAMINO'S MAP Premieres At Chicago Opera Theater, April 23

Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago's foremost producer of contemporary and re-imagined opera, proudly presents the World Premiere of Quamino's Map, shedding light on the post-Revolutionary War years when London was the unlikely refuge for thousands of Black Americans who fought for their liberty on the side of the British.

Quamino's Map, the final production of the COT 2021-22 season, will be staged at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, in three performances only, April 23, 29 and May 1, 2022.

Commissioned by COT, Quamino's Map is composed by the Belize-born, British-based Errollyn Wallen, with a libretto by American playwright Deborah Brevoort. The story, loosely inspired by the novel Incomparable World (1997) by S.I. Martin, is, in Brevoort's words "about the enduring pull of freedom and the ends to which people will go to achieve it."

Quamino's Map tells the story of Juba Freeman who arrives in London after winning his freedom from slavery by fighting for the British in the Revolutionary War. Thrown headfirst into British society, he meets Amelia Alumond, a member of the British Black gentry, and reconnects with other ex-enslaved who are struggling to build new lives for themselves as free men. Inspired by historical events, the opera sheds a light on a forgotten corner of history - and challenges current assumptions of what life was like in 18th-century London for a person of color.

"Commissioning new works is a central tenet of Chicago Opera Theater's mission," said COT Edlis Neeson General Director Ashley Magnus. "We are thrilled to be collaborating with such esteemed storytellers to bring this under-told historical moment to audiences in Chicago."

"Errollyn Wallen is a world-class opera composer whose work must be heard more often on American stages," said COT Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya. "I've been looking for an opportunity to commission Errollyn since I first arrived at COT and I am thrilled to finally present this rigorously developed new work, written with the superb playwright and librettist Deborah Breevoort."

The Quamino's Map creative team includes conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, founder of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia, and director Kimille Howard, in-demand opera director and Metropolitan Opera assistant stage director. Premiere operatic dramaturg Cori Ellison serves as dramaturg for this historically steeped production. All three women are making their COT debuts with Quamino's Map.

Leading its talented national cast are tenor Curtis Bannister as Juba Freeman, Soprano Flora Hawk (COT debut) as Amelia Alumond and Bass-Baritone Damien Geter (COT debut) as the eponymous Quamino Dolly. The ensemble cast is rounded out with COT regulars Cameo Humes, Kimberly E. Jones, Joelle Lamarre, Tyrone Chambers II, and Leah Dexter, and COT apprentice artists Keanon Kyles and Veena Akama-Makia.

Performed in the newly remodeled Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, Quamino's Map is a 90-minute work without intermission. It will be sung in English accompanied by English surtitles. Performances are Saturday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 1, at 3:00 p.m. Tickets start at $45 and are on sale now at chicagooperatheater.org/season/map.

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