Opera review
It’s instantly apparent from the opening moments of “Jubilee” what this work, created and directed by Tazewell Thompson and having its world premiere at Seattle Opera, honors. The rousing overture has motifs taken from African American spirituals. The curtain rises on a set reminiscent of a room in an old church basement where many a choir rehearsal has taken place. It is here that the audience is introduced to the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
Fisk University, a historically Black university, was founded in 1866 as the Fisk Freed Colored School, only three years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The Fisk Jubilee Singers were a group of talented vocalists who decided to use their voices to keep the school funded, after it was in danger of closing, by going on tour, with spirituals forming the backbone of their performances. “Jubilee” takes the audience on that journey from the basement rehearsal room to, eventually, Buckingham Palace, celebrating the beauty of spirituals along the way.
Historically, enslaved people were only allowed to leave the plantation for church services. Eventually, the hymns passed down through white slave owners were abandoned in favor of spirituals that allowed enslaved people to both worship and process the everyday horrors of life. The belief that something better is coming, to make life worth living through hardship, is a cornerstone of spirituals; singing them became a useful way to pass long days working in the fields together.
In “Jubilee,” spirituals are the vehicle through which we access the inner worlds of the Jubilee Singers, and the hardships they endured. They leaned into the fortitude provided by spirituals as they starved and froze during their journey; they experienced hatred and violence in a segregated America, even as they then sang of longing for freedom in “Go Down Moses” before Queen Victoria.
While Act I of “Jubilee” tells a captivating underdog story, Act II doesn’t keep that momentum going, as it becomes a collection of introspective moments, told through spirituals, by the characters. Although the Jubilee Singers end up raising what would be $4.5 million in today’s money, and immortalize their voices by recording an album, what should be a momentous occasion feels like an extended epilogue.
Still, the beauty of the spirituals — the music in “Jubilee” is almost entirely traditional spirituals, orchestrated by Michael Ellis Ingram — shines through. Vocal arranger Dianne Adams McDowell breathes fresh life into these spirituals by adding elements of blues, gospel and R&B — all genres that were born out of spirituals.
And even as the singers beautifully blend their voices into an ensemble, standouts include Ibidunni Ojikutu (Mabel Lewis) and Martin Bakari (Greene Evans), both of whom have graced the Seattle Opera stage before, as well as Seattle Opera newcomers Tyrone Chambers II (Isaac Dickerson) and Tiffany Townsend (America Robinson).
There’s a parallel between what set the Jubilee Singers on their journey and an issue Seattle audiences may be familiar with today, as Seattle Public Schools proposes closing some schools to reduce an anticipated big deficit in next school year’s budget. What both Seattleites in 2024 and Fisk students in 1867 can likely agree on is that education is vital and a path that can open up access to the world.
The characters of “Jubilee” navigated the uncertainty of the future the best way they knew how: They raised their voices and shared their music. By sharing the story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and the beauty and meaning of spirituals, “Jubilee” provides inspiration as we ourselves navigate an uncertain future.