EarRelevant Staff | 17 JUN 2025
ATLANTA, Georgia— This week, The Atlanta Opera invites audiences to witness the collision of history, artistry, and raw creative urgency as its fourth annual 96-Hour Opera Festival unfolds over six days at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College. From June 17–22, 2025, the festival will spotlight newly created opera scenes by up-and-coming composers and librettists, and the world premiere of Steele Roots — a new chamber opera inspired by the life of a visionary 19th-century Black woman who changed the course of Atlanta’s social landscape.
At the heart of the festival is the 96-Hour Opera Project — a high-pressure composition competition in which emerging creative teams write, stage, and rehearse ten-minute operas in just four days. Participants are given a story prompt, professional singers, a pianist, and a stage mentor. By Saturday, June 21, their works will debut before a live audience and a panel of judges. Each team receives a $1,000 honorarium, and the competition’s top prize — the Antinori Grand Prize — awards a $10,000 cash award and a $25,000 commission to develop a longer one-act opera.
But more than a competition, the 96-Hour Festival has evolved into a platform for broader storytelling, equity in creative authorship, and operatic innovation. Founded to elevate historically underrepresented voices in opera, the program supports composers and librettists from marginalized backgrounds and guides them through the creative and production process, offering resources typically out of reach for artists at early career stages.
This year’s festival also marks the world premiere of Steele Roots — a full-length, 65-minute chamber opera with no intermission — created by composer Dave Ragland and librettist Selda Sahin, winners of the 2023 edition of the competition. Their opera tells the story of Carrie Steele Logan, a formerly enslaved woman and railway maid who, in the 1880s, became a pioneering advocate for orphaned Black children in Atlanta. With guidance from acclaimed director Tazewell Thompson, Ragland and Sahin have crafted a poignant multi-generational narrative of compassion, literacy, and legacy.
Steele Roots shifts between past and present, connecting Carrie’s 19th-century efforts at the Atlanta Terminal train station with the contemporary story of Michael, a young father seeking to understand his family roots as he learns to care for his own child. In Carrie’s world, we meet Ruth, a young girl in her care, and Raymond, a supportive co-worker, as Carrie sells copies of her autobiography to raise funds for an orphanage — an institution that endures today as the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home.
Soprano Indra Thomas (courtesy of The Atlanta Opera)
Taking on the role of Carrie Steele Logan is internationally celebrated soprano Indra Thomas, whose personal connection to the character runs deep. A native Atlantan and educator, Thomas grew up near the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home and now mentors young singers as artist-in-residence at Berry College.
“When asked to participate in this new work, I realized that I went to school with these kids!” says Thomas. “This is a beautiful story, and it hits close to home for me. The librettist Selda Sahin was brilliant to structure the profile of Carrie as parallel moments across time. And the gorgeous music reflects the story. I just love the work.”
Known for her luminous voice and emotional clarity, Thomas brings more than vocal power to Steele Roots — she brings a lived sense of place and purpose. For her, portraying Carrie is both a homecoming and a chance to honor a woman whose influence continues to resonate across generations.
The premiere of Steele Roots will be held Friday, June 20 at 7 pm, with an encore performance on Sunday, June 22 at 3 p.m. Both performances take place at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center. The opera will also be livestreamed, expanding its reach to virtual audiences.
On Saturday, June 21 at 3 pm, the festival’s central showcase will feature the newly written ten-minute operas in competition. Tickets and livestream access for both the showcase and Steele Roots are available at AtlantaOpera.org or by calling 404-881-8885.
With its blend of urgency and craft, the 96-Hour Opera Festival reflects The Atlanta Opera’s commitment to new voices, new stories, and new ways of making opera relevant. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- The Atlanta Opera: atlantaopera.org
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