I’m still thinking about ‘Lalovavi,” the first opera in Cincinnati Opera’s Black Opera Project, which had its world premiere last week, July 9 and 11. The Afrofuturist opera is set in a fantasy world that reimagines Black history and culture, with music by Kevin Day and the libretto by Tifara Brown.(Cincinnati MacDowell Society friends might be interested to know that Day wrote much of his score at the MacDowell colony.)

Besides the artistry that we witnessed onstage, the opera had an overwhelming reception by the audience on the evening I attended. Both performances were sold out, with only a few “limited view” seats available, I was told by officials. Music Hall seats 2,388 in its “opera” configuration. I was extremely impressed by the company’s success in getting out the Black community, which bodes well for the next two operas in this trilogy, coming, respectively, in the next two seasons. This project, which aims to tell uplifting Black American stories, could signal a seminal moment in American opera programming.

Click on the links above to interviews with the creators and my review, both on Cincinnati Business Courier. They are free to read. If you have a problem, please let me know.

Coming soon: Bizet’s “Carmen,” starring J’Nai Bridges in the title role and Matthew White as Don José in four performances in Music Hall: July 25, 29, 31 and Aug. 2. cincinnatiopera.org/carmen for info and tickets.

.