The Cincinnati Opera has announced its plans to present an Afrofuturist-themed production titled 'Lalovavi' in 2025, marking the first of three commissions from the company to all-Black creative teams. The opera, composed by Kevin Day with a libretto by Tifara Brown and directed by Kimille Howard, will premiere on June 19, 2025, at Cincinnati Music Hall.
'Lalovavi,' meaning 'love' in the Tut language created by enslaved Black Americans, is a three-act work set in the year 2119. The idea for the opera stemmed from a conversation in 2019 when a noted bass opera singer expressed the need for operas reflecting Black American culture.
