Homecoming: Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane: A World Premiere

Musical Louisiana: America’s Cultural Heritage, presented annually by the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, is both a concert for music lovers and an educational experience for students.

This year’s edition of Musical Louisiana presents the long-awaited world premiere of New Orleanian Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane (1887). This historic composition remains the earliest known surviving full-length opera written by a Black American composer. Lauded for works that transformed some of France’s most popular stages, Dédé packed a variety of musical genres into Morgiane, which has remained a hidden gem for over a century and yet to be heard—until now.

This world premiere in New Orleans is copresented by the Historic New Orleans Collection, OperaCréole, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, courtesy of the production partnership between OperaCréole and DC–based Opera Lafayette, who collaborated to produce Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane. The opera will be mounted in full in Washington, DC, and New York City this February by Opera Lafayette in partnership with OperaCréole.