Connecticut Lyric Opera

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Connecticut Lyric Opera is Connecticut's only full-season professional opera company, each season presenting two full productions throughout the state as well as other performances in CT and beyond.

06/27/2025

After three powerful performances across Connecticut, we’re ready for our final performance TONIGHT in New York City!

🎭 Join us at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem for the closing performance of Amistad—a production that has left audiences deeply moved and inspired.

🎶 This abridged version of Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking opera brings the 1839 Amistad uprising to life through music, history, and truth- with a community discussion following the performance on why this story still matters today.
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📍 Church of the Intercession, Harlem
🕖 Tonight at 7:00 PM
🎟️ Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amistad-an-opera-by-anthony-davis-tickets-1419544799709

If you're in NYC, don’t miss this unforgettable night of art, remembrance, and justice.

06/19/2025

On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the end of slavery - more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. That day became known as Juneteenth, a turning point in the long journey toward freedom and justice for African Americans. When Connecticut Lyric Opera set the dates for this year’s production of Amistad, we did so with deep intention - to honor Juneteenth, our nation’s recognition of emancipation and the enduring struggle for freedom.

This ground-breaking opera, composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Davis, tells the extraordinary true story of the 1839 uprising aboard the slave ship La Amistad, led by the courageous Mende captives who refused to accept enslavement. Their journey began with their capture in Africa, surged forward with their revolt at sea, and unfolded here in Connecticut - a story that still resonates powerfully with us today.

We are proud to have launched this journey with a moving Opening Night in New London. The standing ovation and community dialogue that followed reminded us just how vital this story is.

Now, we invite you to join us as Amistad comes to Hartford and New Haven this weekend:

🎭 Friday, June 20 at 7:30 PM
📍 Wadsworth Atheneum's Avery Theater, Hartford
🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amistad-an-opera-by-anthony-davis-hartford-tickets-1373940676549

🎭 Saturday, June 21 at 7:30 PM
📍 United Church on the Green, New Haven
🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amistad-an-opera-by-anthony-davis-new-haven-tickets-1373953615249

Each performance will be followed by a community conversation about why the Amistad story matters — now more than ever.

We hope you’ll join us in this celebration of resilience, remembrance, and the power of telling our stories.

In solidarity and song,

Connecticut Lyric Opera

06/13/2025

Dear Amistad Attendees and Supporters,

We are closely monitoring the weather for this Saturday’s performance of Amistad at the historic Customs House Pier in New London—the very location where the Mende captives were first brought brought to port in 1839. This meaningful location marks the beginning of their harrowing and courageous odyssey in America, making it a powerful and symbolic place to kick off our production, our opening night of four performances in CT and NYC.

If the weather is favorable, the performance will take place outdoors as planned. Bleacher seating is available for general admission, but we welcome attendees to bring their own folding chairs for greater comfort, and please consider temperature's in the 60s when dressing.

In the event of rain, the performance will be moved indoors to the Customs House Museum itself. Due to Fire Marshal restrictions, indoor admission will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that due to busy performer schedules, unfortunately, re-scheduling is not an option. If ticket holders cannot be admitted due to capacity limits, they are welcome to use their tickets to attend one of our upcoming performances:

June 20 at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, or

June 21 at United Church on the Green in New Haven

If neither option is possible, we will gladly—but with heavy hearts—offer a full refund.

We also want to extend our sincere thanks to the New London Maritime Society and Customs House Museum for hosting us at this historic site. We encourage everyone attending to arrive early and explore their extraordinary Amistad exhibit, located on the upper floor of the museum—it offers powerful context for the story brought to life onstage.

Following the performance, please stay for a community conversation on why the Amistad story still matters today. Together, we’ll reflect on its lasting relevance and the urgent lessons it continues to offer.

We are praying for clear skies and a truly unforgettable evening on the waterfront!

June 14, 7pm – Customs House Pier, New London
June 20, 7:30pm – Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford
June 21, 7:30pm – United Church on the Green, New Haven
June 27, 7pm – Church of the Intercession, Harlem, New York City

05/28/2025

Anthony Davis changed the sound of American opera. Now his boldest story comes home.

Anthony Davis is no ordinary composer. He is a musical pioneer—blending jazz, classical, African rhythms, and the spirit of resistance into a sound uniquely his own.

Over four decades, Davis has written operas that speak to America’s soul. His subjects? Malcolm X, Patricia Hearst, the Central Park Five—and the 53 captives aboard the La Amistad who defied their chains and demanded freedom.

His groundbreaking opera Amistad, first premiered in 1997, has been reimagined for today—a time when its message could not be more urgent.

In 2020, Davis received the Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Central Park Five, confirming what the opera world has long known:

"Anthony Davis is one of the most essential voices in contemporary music—telling stories that history tried to forget."

On June 13, 14, 20, and 21, experience his visionary score live, in performances shaped by history, justice, and the search for truth.

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/amistad-performances-in-connecticut-4343553

05/23/2025

A Story That Still Echoes: Why Amistad Matters Today

Nearly 200 years ago, a group of captives aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad rose up and demanded their freedom. Their courageous revolt—and the legal battle that followed—became one of the most powerful stories of justice and dignity in American history.

But Amistad is not just a story of the past.

Today, the fight for freedom, the demand for equality, and the struggle against systemic injustice remain as urgent as ever. That’s why Connecticut Lyric Opera, in partnership with Harlem Opera Theater and Discovering Amistad, is proud to present a stunning new production of Anthony Davis’s opera Amistad—the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer’s searing retelling of the events that shaped a nation.

Amistad is more than an opera. It’s a call to remember—and to act.

Each performance is followed by a community dialogue through Rotary of Southern Connecticut's Opus for Peace initiative.

Join us in Harlem, New London, Hartford, or New Haven—each site chosen for its deep historical resonance.

For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/amistad-performances-in-connecticut-4343553

For more information, please go to ctlyricopera.org or email dbaxter@ctlyricopera.org.

05/14/2025

For more information, please go to ctlyricopera.org or email [email protected].

03/20/2025

🎶 Love, Loss, Exile – A Night of Music and Emotion

📅 April 4, 2025 | Harkness Chapel, Connecticut College | 7:30 pm

✨ Experience an intimate program of Ravel’s folk-inspired Greek Songs, Previn’s powerful Four Songs on Toni Morrison’s poetry, and Bartók’s vibrant Roumanian Folk Dances, featuring acclaimed artists Anastasia Rege (soprano), Samuel DeCaprio (cello), and Min Young Kang (piano).

🎟 Get your tickets now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1218580971489?aff=oddtdtcreator

Address

New London, CT
06320

Website

http://www.ctlyricopera.org/

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