SUMMARY

Imagine a world 400 years in the future, where a young woman is forced into exile after discovering she carries a rare gene linked to extraordinary power and immortality. That's the premise of a new opera opening in Cincinnati. PBS stations CET and ThinkTV take us behind the scenes for a look at the project and the new direction it's taking opera. It's for News Hour's arts and culture series, CANVAS.

View the transcript of the story.

NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?

News alternative: Check our recent segments from the News Hour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. What is the Black Opera Project?
2. Where did the Tut language originate?
3. How is the Tut language used within the opera’s story?
4. How can opera inspire youth in ways that the medium hasn’t traditionally been able to do so?
5. What is "Afrofuturism" and what elements of Afrofuturism are used within "Lalovavi"?

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. What is the significance of an opera being performed, written and composed by Black artists and creatives?
2. How does the Black Opera Project’s mission contrast with previous visibility of Black performers within the opera space?

Media literacy:

Consider the costumes shown in the video.

• What elements of resistance and culture are immediately clear?
• How do these themes enhance the overall mission of the Black Opera Project with their show "Lalovavi"?

WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO

Read over this page from the Smithsonian on Afrofuturism, and explore further into the different areas of the site. Look carefully at how Afrofuturist can be seen across a variety of arts and music. After students are finished browsing, they should discuss how "Lalovavi’"and the Black Opera Project fit within a broader context. Some guiding questions can be:

• What can increased visibility of Afrofuturist elements do to push forward opera as an innovative medium?
• The Black Opera project is based in Cincinnati. What would bringing their mission to cities across the U.S. mean?

Written by Alyssa Tinoco, News Hour Classroom intern, and PBS News Hour's Vic Pasquantonio

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