Amistad

Connecticut Lyric Opera is thrilled to present the powerful and historically resonant opera “Amistad” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis. This extraordinary collaboration between Harlem Opera Theater, Discovering Amistad, and Connecticut Lyric Opera will offer a compelling and timely exploration of racial justice and the triumph of the human spirit.

“Amistad” is based on the 1839 Amistad Uprising, a historic slave rebellion that led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming the rights of enslaved individuals. Through Anthony Davis’s masterful composition and Thulani Davis’s powerful libretto, “Amistad” intertwines historical narrative with themes of dehumanization, resistance, and justice, which continue to resonate today. The opera was originally commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago and has garnered critical acclaim for its relevance and emotional depth.