Dorothy Rudd Moore

multiple solo voices, chorus, piano

Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940-2022) was commissioned by Opera Ebony in 1978 to write an opera. Frederick Douglass, for which she also wrote the libretto, was premiered at Aaron David Hall at City College, in New York City in 1985 to wide critical acclaim. Frederick Douglass was admired for its high level of artistry and seriousness of purpose. 

Her version of the story begins in 1844 at an anti-slavery convention in Plymouth, Mass, and concludes in Tremont Hall in Boston, on Dec. 31, 1862, as the group awaits news from the President, Abraham Lincoln, for confirmation that he has signed the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order by the federal government to become law on January 1, 1863 declaring “that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free.”

The opera is in three Acts. 

John A. Collins         Baritone
William Lloyd Garrison  Tenor
Man/Heckler #2       Baritone
Frederick Douglass   Bass-Baritone
Heckler #1             Tenor
Anna Douglass      Mezzo-Soprano
Nathan Johnson    Tenor
Reverend Butler     Baritone
Mary Johnson        Soprano
Shields Green         Bass Baritone
Luke                        Baritone
Harriet Tubman       Mezzo-Soprano
Ned                         Tenor
Jenny                       Soprano
Mayor                      Tenor   
Captain John Brown  Baritone
Mr. Kagi                    Tenor

Abolitionists, friends, girl, boy, baby, residents, marchers, John Brown’s army, sentry, two guards, Federal troops, dream figure, fugitive slaves.

This is an archival item from ACA's catalog, and not currently available for purchase.