One of today’s most acclaimed and in-demand sopranos, Sphinx Medal of Excellence winner Karen Slack joins us with the New York premiere of her compelling multimedia work African Queens.

The original work features new art songs exploring the legacy of seven powerful African queens through history who were revered as rulers but under-celebrated in the western world, and weaves its narrative through music by some of today’s leading African and American composers: Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Carols Simon, and others.

Hailed for the rich beauty of her voice, her charismatic performances, and her passionate activism, Slack has captivated audiences in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Tyler Perry’s film For Colored Girls, and much more. Don’t miss her first 92NY appearance in this extraordinary new work of undertold stories.

Program
African Queens
Dave Ragland “Precatio”
Carlos Simon “Behold, The Queen”
Dave Ragland “The Queen of Sheba”
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor A Prayer, from African Romances, Op. 17, No. 3
Florence Price “Night”
Will Liverman “Invocation”
Fred Onovwerosuoke “Luwah (Bitter Tears)”
Damien Geter “Amanirenas”
Fred Onovwerosuoke “Duniya (Mystic Universe)”
Florence Price “Bewilderment”
Jasmine Barnes “I Am Not Your God”
Jessie Montgomery “The Song of Nzingha”
Will Liverman “Incantation”
Joel Thompson “Queen Nanny”
Shawn Okpebholo “A Letter From Queen Ufua”