On February 6, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare, opera, and Morgiane, the first known opera by a Black American composer.
LEARN more about Black voices in classical music
- Podcast: Every Voice with Terrance McKnight
- Podcast: Melanated Moments in Classical Music
- African American Art Song Alliance
- Sphinx Music
DISCOVER Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane, displayed at the Folger through March 2, 2025
- A Lost Opera is Found: Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane
- Found: A Manuscript That Unlocks a Forgotten Black Composer’s World
- After 138 years, Black American composer Edmond Dédé gets his flowers
EXPLORE Shakespeare and opera
- Shakespeare and opera: Verdi, Rossini, and other composers inspired by the plays
- Bringing Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Operatic Heights
- Adapting Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ for opera
- Q&A: Allan Clayton on playing Hamlet in Brett Dean’s opera
- Venus and Adonis: The classical myth that inspired Shakespeare’s epic poem and John Blow’s 17th-century opera
- Shakespeare and opera: Jealousy and tragedy in Verdi’s Otello
- Verdi’s Macbeth: “The opera without a love affair!”
- Charles Gounod: The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in four beautiful duets
- A feast of Falstaff: Sir John in opera
LISTEN to related podcast episodes
- Episode 127: Shakespeare and Opera, with Colleen Fay
- Episode 191: Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn on Their Hamlet Opera
- Episode 192: John Adams Gives Antony and Cleopatra the Operatic Treatment
REVISIT past Folger programs exploring opera
- Folger Consort
- Folger Humanities
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program
Join us for a future event
Using 20-Minute Plays the Whole Year Long
Using 20-Minute Plays the Whole Year Long
Teachers, join Folger Education for a free, one-hour, virtual professional development session on launching students into complex texts using 20-Minute Plays.
Wed, Sep 24, 2025, 8pm ET
The Bard, the Witch, and the Cauldron with Mhara Starling
The Bard, the Witch, and the Cauldron with Mhara Starling
Join us for a virtual talk on the rich tapestry of Welsh stories preserved in medieval and early modern literature, with Mhara Starling, a Welsh author, folklorist, and modern-day Witch.
Wed, Oct 8, 2025, at 7pm
Folger Book Club: 'A Haunting on the Hill' by Elizabeth Hand
Folger Book Club: 'A Haunting on the Hill' by Elizabeth Hand
Our October 2025 selection takes a trip to Shirley Jackson’s infamous Hill House, where four theater-makers are attempting to adapt a Jacobean witchcraft play under unique conditions…
Thu, Oct 9, 2025, 6:30pm
Stay connected
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.