a bayou legend

Director's Note: A Bayou Legend

When Opera Vermont commits to a production, we always do so with intention—not simply to present beautiful music, but to create meaningful experiences that resonate deeply with our community and expand the boundaries of what we believe with our whole hearts that opera can be.

William Grant Still's A Bayou Legend represents both an artistic triumph and a cultural reckoning. Composed in 1941, this masterwork has shamefully languished in obscurity for decades, denied the prestige, stages, and audiences it rightly deserves. Personally, at every listening to it, I am taken by the unimaginable beauty of this score, and can’t help but think about the grave injustice it is that this music is not widely recognized as part of the American canon.

We truly believe it is our responsibility - and even more, our privilege - to champion works that have been unjustly neglected, alongside remarkable partners such as The Chandler Center for the Arts, and of course none of this would be possible without the blessing and support of Judith Anne Still, and William Grant Still Music. A Bayou Legend is not a historical curiosity or novelty; it is a living, breathing opera of extraordinary beauty, combining lush orchestration, haunting melodies, and a story that at some times seems like folklore, and at some times appears more contemporary, but is always accessible as the archetypal characters in A Bayou Legend exist in all our lives.

To have the audacity to mount a production of an opera like this from a composer who during his life was marginalized, and minimized, and only now is the resurgence of his music beginning to truly emerge, Opera Vermont is proud to stand together with artists from across the country at the forefront of this movement, and renew our commitment to not let masterpieces like this simply atrophy because they were overlooked by previous generations.

This production in itself is an act of artistic justice and a celebration of Still's genius. It is also a declaration that opera belongs to everyone, and that the canon undoubtedly must expand to encompass the full richness of American artistry. I say this from a place of profound discovery also for myself, as our Music Director, and my great friend, Cailin Marcel Manson opened my eyes and ears to the brilliance of Grant Still. He is a living link to the vocal works of WGS by being holding the title of most performances of “And They Lynched Him On a Tree,” as well as having performed this work as Leonce with the originator of the role of Aurore in A Bayou Legend, Carmen Balthrop. I was late to the party in recognizing the genius of this composer, and I hope that with this foray into his repertoire, there won’t be anyone who can say that they have never heard of William Grant Still.

Another element that makes this production truly special to me is our collaboration with Longy School of Music and Clark University. This partnership transforms A Bayou Legend from a single production of a magnificent opera, into a region-wide educational and cultural celebration. Students from both institutions will work alongside our incredible professional artists, both as covers and as chorus members, gaining invaluable experience in every aspect of being involved in an opera production. This is opera education at its finest: immersive, collaborative, and rooted in real-world professional practice from every corner of the Opera Vermont leadership team, and for many of these talented students, they will have the memory of THIS opera being their first professional operatic experience. I believe with my whole heart that while there is a place definitely for the masterworks of the western European tradition, this beginning to reorient the canon to include artists that have been left out of the conversation, will, at least operatically, help to say collectively that we see each other, and we value each other’s contributions to this art form.

For our New England community, this collaboration creates unprecedented access for audiences across the region, who will have the rare opportunity to engage deeply with Still's work and legacy. All of this is to say that we're not simply presenting an opera; we're creating a cultural ecosystem that serves students, educators, artists, and audiences from Vermont to Massachusetts and beyond, with exposure to one of America’s most talented - and most regrettably forgotten - artists.

All of Opera, for All of New England

Since our founding, Opera Vermont has been committed to accessibility and excellence. Our mission is to bring access to the transcendence of the opera to communities that might otherwise never experience it. A Bayou Legend embodies this mission on a grand scale. By partnering with academic institutions and expanding our reach across state lines, we're demonstrating that opera can be a unifying force, connecting diverse communities through shared artistic experience.

Through this production, and the initiation of this multi-year cycle, I hope to join with all of New England’s history/music/art/culture lovers, and honor William Grant Still's legacy by providing for him, this deferred justice. By insisting on equal measure of excellence and compassion without compromise, and proving that American opera has stories to tell that are every bit as powerful as those from European tradition, I hope that Vermont can join us and support this venture, understanding the unbelievably valuable opportunity we have been given from Judith Anne Still to honor her father’s work and legacy.

While I understand that considering my personal identifiers, I might not be the perfect messenger for this almost sacred work, I want to assure all of my friends and neighbors that being a part of this work, and this composer’s genius, is something I take very seriously, and approach it with the reverence that it certainly deserves. I have tried to craft a visual story that does not take away from the the lush beauty of Still's score, or the compelling drama of his wife and librettist, Verna Arvey’s storytelling, but rather augments the power of a community coming together to right an old wrong, and celebrating a true American masterpiece. I specifically asked Judith Anne Still in one of our many phone calls whether she would be more comfortable with a director that would be BIPOC considering the sensitivities of the subject matter, as well as just the nature of the work. Her response was unexpected and enlightening: “Of course not,” She said, “My father’s music is not just Black music, it is American music, and your love and respect for him gives you just as much right to work with it as anyone else!” My hope and fervent desire is that this production, and the allegories contained therein, go far toward the elimination of the “other” and the unification of all communities, as we all seek to collectively celebrate this incredible son of America.

Thank you for joining us on this journey into the Bayou, where possibilities are endless, and love endures in realms unseen. May we all remember the piece of starlight that exists within each of us that connects us to all of humanity - and remember, always remember.

Joshua Collier Artistic Director, Opera Vermont