(CNN) 鈥� For the briefest of moments, a silence fell over the pews of New Orleans鈥� famed St. Louis Cathedral, as the chapel filled with a collective sense the audience was about to witness history.
They were the first to hear composer Edmond D茅d茅鈥檚 opera 鈥淢orgiane鈥� 鈥� the earliest known, full-length opera composed by a Black American 鈥� more than century after he composed the opus.
The score was thought to have been lost, but a chance discovery of the manuscript in Harvard University鈥檚 archives presented an opportunity to add D茅d茅鈥檚 name to the canon of American composers.
The opening notes of the opera鈥檚 overture filled the same cathedral where D茅d茅 was baptized in 1828 during a preview performance last Friday. The opera this week in Washington, DC, Maryland and New York.
鈥淚t is with great pride and humility that I would like to say welcome home Edmond D茅d茅, welcome home,鈥� said Givonna Joseph, co-founder of , a nonprofit aimed at discovering and bringing the works of 19th-century New Orleans composers of color to the stage.
鈥淢orgiane鈥� is an op茅ra comique that tells the story of a young woman who is kidnapped and forced into an engagement with a sultan, and her mother鈥檚 bid to rescue her.
Joseph told CNN she was among the dozens of people who spent years adapting the manuscript from its original 19th century handwritten notes into modern musical notations.
Patrick Dupre Quigley, the opera鈥檚 conductor, has described D茅d茅鈥檚 work as 鈥渢he most important opera never heard.鈥� That is, until now.
鈥淭here is this story that we have told that people of color are only now becoming part of the timeline of classical music,鈥� Quigley said. 鈥淎nd the reality is that in the United States 鈥� in the person of D茅d茅 鈥� Black people were (already) participating in classical music.鈥�
He emerged from New Orleans鈥� golden age of opera
D茅d茅 grew up in a New Orleans that resonated with the bel cantos of opera, long before the city became the birthplace of jazz.
Throughout the 19th century, New Orleans was the nation鈥檚 premiere destination for opera performances, with Italian composers like staging their American premieres at theaters in the city鈥檚 French Quarter.
D茅d茅 was born during this musical 茅辫辞辩耻别 in 1827 to parents who were free Black Americans. He learned music from his father, studied under skilled Black composers in New Orleans, and was recognized for his musical prowess from an early age, said Candace Bailey, a musicologist who researches 19th century music in the United States with a focus on the South.
D茅d茅鈥檚 talents grew as the country pitched toward the Civil War and the rights of free Black people became more restricted, Bailey said. As tensions rose over slavery, D茅d茅 ultimately fled to France.
It was there D茅d茅 reached the height of his career. The composer held a prestigious position writing and conducting at the Grand Th茅芒tre in Bordeaux, and he wrote numerous pieces, Bailey said. He was also an abolitionist who never forgot the plight of the enslaved in the US and in colonies around the world.
鈥淗e belonged to the Institute d鈥橝frique, which was a group of men from around the world who worked to abolish slavery,鈥� Bailey said.
By 1887, D茅d茅 completed the score for his grand opera 鈥淢orgiane.鈥� The handwritten manuscript spans two volumes with more than 500 pages of complicated notations for each instrument in the orchestra.
But the composer would not live to see his life鈥檚 work come to fruition.
The colossal effort to transcribe D茅d茅鈥檚 work
After his death in 1901, D茅d茅鈥檚 鈥淢orgiane鈥� 鈥� like many manuscripts of 19th century Black composers 鈥� vanished, until by chance, researchers discovered a copy of the score in Harvard鈥檚 archives.
But finding the manuscript was only the start of a decades-long quest to stage the opera. Over the years, multiple researchers and musicians tried to transcribe the manuscript, but it wasn鈥檛 until the Covid-19 pandemic that Joseph, Bailey and Quigley began working together.
Quigley, who is also the artistic director designate for the Washington-based Opera Lafayette, said he discovered D茅d茅 and 鈥淢orgiane鈥� in 2020 and decided to stage the opera in honor of the company鈥檚 30th anniversary season.
Quigley said he spent years working with several people, including arrangers, editors and musicians, who puzzled through every note for each instrument in the orchestra, transcribed the French libretto, or songbook and paired the lyrics with the score to ultimately create the sheet music.
Further complicating matters, many musical instruments have evolved since the 19th century. Violins, for instance, now use metal strings instead of ones made from animal gut, and some of the instruments noted in the original score are no longer used by modern orchestras.
For the upcoming world premiere, the orchestra will perform on instruments used in the 19th century or ones that have been adapted to emulate their sound, Quigley said.
鈥淲e are becoming more and more authentic to the sound world that Edmond would have composed for this piece. Our goal is to be as faithful collaborators with (D茅d茅鈥檚) original team as possible,鈥� he said.
A chance to cement his legacy in America
For the team of musicians, historians and performers bringing D茅d茅鈥檚 opera to the stage, the performances are about more than just giving the composer his long-overdue flowers.
Kenneth Kellogg, who plays the sultan, said he didn鈥檛 hesitate to take on the role because as a Black man, it was a chance to recognize the contributions of African American artists to classical music.
鈥淔or historical sake and posterity鈥檚 sake 鈥� and what it means to the culture and D茅d茅 鈥� I鈥檓 absolutely on board,鈥� the bass opera singer said. 鈥淏ut there was also a sense of sadness. In all my years of studying music 鈥� D茅d茅鈥檚 story never came up.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear why records of many of Edmond D茅d茅鈥檚 works have been lost through the years or what role racism may have played in erasing his contributions to the classical genre.
The performance has also taken on new meaning amid the attacks on diversity and inclusion and efforts to recognize Black history, Joseph said.
There鈥檚 鈥渃oncerns about pulling things out of the history books,鈥� Joseph said, 鈥渁nd we鈥檝e been able to put this before the public at this really important time.鈥�
While D茅d茅鈥檚 name and his grand opera were lost to history once, Quigley said they refuse to let it happen again.
鈥淭his is our cultural patrimony that we lost because of a terrible time in our history,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e must listen to this because if we don鈥檛, we are not having a dialogue with our (American) culture.鈥�
The-CNN-Wire
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