Freedom Ride / Chicago

Chicago Opera Theater’s second opera of the season, “Freedom Ride,” is also the company’s second ever world premiere commission. “Freedom Ride” is set in New Orleans during the summer of 1961. The Congress of Racial Equality is looking for volunteers to ride buses and trains to Jackson, Mississippi, risking life and limb to end segregation. When Xavier University student Sylvie Davenport is handed a pamphlet, she must choose between her academic future and joining the Freedom Riders. For “Freedom Ride,” COT will be partnering with Chicago institution Chicago Sinfonietta to perform as the production’s orchestra. The production will be performed at the Studebaker Theater February 8, 14 and 16, 2020.

“Freedom Ride” Music and Libretto by Dan Shore
February 8, 14 & 16, 2020 Studebaker Theater

Conducted by COT Staley Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya
Directed by Tazewell Thompson
Partner: Chicago Sinfonietta