A Star-Studded Cast Brings Scott Joplin’s “Ragtime Opera” To Florida

The cast has arrived for the Florida premiere of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha presented by Opera Orlando on May 16 - 18 at the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater at Dr. Phillips Center. Stage director Roberta Emerson and conductor Everett McCorvey lead a star-studded cast with soprano Taylor-Alexis DuPont in the title role, joined by tenor Leo Williams as Remus, Broadway star Brian Love as Zodzetrick, soprano NaGuanda Nobles as Monisha, baritone Geoffrey Peterson as Simon, and bass-baritone Lloyd Reshard, Jr. as Ned. Opera Orlando Studio Artists Thandolwethu Mamba and Kristen Marie Gillis round out the cast as Parson Alltalk and Lucy with Opera Orlando SINGS alumni Israel Anderson and Karl Auguste as Andy and Cephus. 

“Opera Orlando is thrilled to welcome several new artists and welcome back some familiar faces for this history-in-the-making production of Treemonisha,” stated Opera Orlando general director Gabriel Preisser. “We are especially thrilled to have the talented and distinguished duo of Roberta and Everett leading this project with such joy, passion, and love for this piece.”

Roberta Emerson, an award-winning director, actor, producer, and educator, is making her directorial debut with Opera Orlando and her first foray into the world of opera with this production. Ms. Emerson, who truly embodies the character of Treemonisha in her own right, currently serves as the director of new play development at Orlando Shakes as well as a show director for Disney Live Entertainment. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a BFA in acting and theatre management and New York University with an MFA in acting. Ms.
Emerson has worked as an actor and director in many regional theaters around the country, has done extensive voice-over, commercial, and film work, and has been a teaching artist in both the U.S. and Europe. Most recent directing credits include Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too, August Wilson) and Beauty and the Beast. She is also the co-organizer and theatre relations lead for Central Florida Entertainment Advocacy, whose mission is to create a more equitable, diverse,  and inclusive arts and entertainment community in Central Florida. For this production, Ms. Emerson has been recognized as a recipient of the OPERA America 2024 Opera Grant for Women Stage Directors and Conductors. Generously supported by the Marineau Family Foundation.

Dr. Everett McCorvey, the founder and music director of the American Spiritual Ensemble, returns to Opera Orlando having last been seen as the conductor for the world premiere of The Secret River. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. McCorvey has served as the director of opera theater at the University of Kentucky since 1991. As an operatic tenor, he has performed at The Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Aspen Music Festival, Radio City Music Hall, Birmingham Opera Theater, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Italy, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England, as well as performances throughout Spain, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria, Japan, China, Brazil, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Mexico, Peru and France. He joined the Tony Award winning Sherwin Goldman Production of Porgy and Bess at Radio City Music Hall in 1982 and was also part of The Metropolitan Opera’s debut production of Porgy and Bess in 1985. He is currently in his sixth season as the artistic director of the National Chorale of New York City and serves on the faculty of the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, New York where he is artist-in-residence and associate conductor, and he is also a frequent advisory panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts Opera/Musical Theatre program. 

Soprano Taylor-Alexis DuPont, a former Opera Orlando Studio Artist, returns to her hometown to make her role debut as Treemonisha. Hailed for her “beautifully rich and spirited” voice (Washington Post) which “displays gorgeous gravitas,” (Charleston City Paper), Ms. DuPont has engaged audiences internationally from Italy to China since graduating with her Masters in Voice from the Peabody Conservatory where she studied with Denyce Graves. She has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, Prototype Festival, and Sarasota Opera. Among her significant accolades and achievements are her selection as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2023 Lotte Lenya Competition and her receipt of the inaugural Rebecca Luker Award in 2021, presented by the Kurt Weill Foundation for an exceptional performance of a Golden Age musical theater selection. DuPont was also involved in the Grammy Award-winning production of Porgy & Bess as an ensemble member and soloist cover with The Metropolitan Opera in 2020-2021. 

​​”I can’t wait to be back in my hometown for the Pulitzer Prize-winning work Treemonisha,” stated Ms. DuPont. “Joplin’s score has it all: ragtime, spirituals, folk music, and of course, opera. It is everything!”

Taylor is joined by rising-star tenor Leo Williams making his Opera Orlando debut. A proud alumnus of Indiana University and recipient of The Georgina Joshi International Grant, The Jacobs Premier, & The Schmidt Foundation Scholarships, Mr. Williams has worked with Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Detroit Opera. Also making his company debut, Broadway veteran Brian Love ventures into the world of Opera for the first time for this production. With over 25 years on stage and screen, Mr. Love has been a standout in the national tours of Rent as Benjamin Coffin III and as a swing and Simba understudy in Broadway’s The Lion King —a role that took him across the country and solidified his place as a force in American musical theater. His deep, expressive voice and commanding stage presence have also landed him national commercials, HBO roles, and top regional productions in South Florida. 

Three familiar faces to Orlandoans also join the cast for Treemonisha, NaGuanda Nobles, Lloyd Reshard, Jr., and Geoffrey Peterson. Nobles has made her mark on stage as a recitalist and an opera performer with the Pittsburgh Opera, Atlanta Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, and Dayton Opera, to name a few. She was also a featured soloist with Wynton Marsalis and The Boston Symphony, under the direction of Kurt Masur and was featured on the Soul of America tour throughout Europe with the Berlin Rundfunkchor, the Netherlands Radio Choir, and the NDR Choir Festival in Hamburg, receiving rave reviews for her “big, warming soprano with a lovely shimmering top that she uses with a ravishing effect.” In 2020, she made her debut with the London Symphony. Lloyd Reshard, Jr. was just seen as Don Pedro in Berlioz’s Beatrice + Benedict with Opera Orlando and has performed in the Company’s production of All is Calm and Carmen. Former Opera Orlando Studio Artist Geoffrey Peterson was most recently seen with Opera Ithaca and has also performed with Houston Grand Opera and Opera Theater of St. Louis.

Opera Orlando Chorus members are joined by students from Bethune-Cookman University and members of the Opera Orlando Youth Company to round out the ensemble for the production, along with local dancers led by choreographer Bethany Hemmans and dance captain Montez Walker.

TREEMONISHA
music + libretto by Scott Joplin
sung in English with English and Spanish supertitles

Friday  |  May 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday | May 17, 2025 at 2 p.m. + 7:30 p.m.
Sunday  |  May 18, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Opera Orlando concludes its 2024-25 Destiny + Desire Season with the Florida premiere of Scott Joplin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Treemonisha, America’s “first opera” and a true celebration of community and family.

age advisory: G

Estimated run time is one hour and 30 minutes with no intermission. A pre-show talk, free for all ticket holders, will be held on stage 50 minutes prior to each performance. The theater will be in a thrust configuration, with seating on three sides.

Treemonisha is graciously supported by the Universal Orlando Foundation and presented in partnership with the ZORA! Festival, the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and Bethune-Cookman University. Treemonisha stage director, Roberta Emerson, is a recipient of the OPERA America 2024 Opera Grant for Women Stage Directors and Conductors. Generously supported by the Marineau Family Foundation.

Individual tickets for Treemonisha start at just $49 and are on sale now exclusively through the Dr. Phillips Center’s Bill & Mary Darden Box Office (445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando), online at www.DrPhillipsCenter.org, or by calling (407) 358-6603. 

See YOU at the Opera!

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About Opera Orlando:     Celebrating, expanding, and sharing the world’s greatest art form, the 2024-25 season will mark Opera Orlando’s ninth season producing high-quality operatic entertainment and educational programs that engage Central Florida audiences.

Stay up to date with Opera Orlando’s season via their website at www.OperaOrlando.org, and follow and like the Opera’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X accounts to share in all the Company has planned for 2024-25.