WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS?

Everyone has heard of Rosa Parks, but she wasn’t the first to refuse to move. She Who Dared celebrates the women whose courageous resistance in Montgomery, Alabama ignited a movement and led to the historic Supreme Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle, which declared bus segregation unconstitutional and transformed their acts of defiance into a decisive legal victory for equality and justice. While often riotous and sometimes hilarious, She Who Dared vividly brings to life how everyday people have the power to challenge the systems around them and affect tangible change—if only they dare.

With a score that fuses gospel, jazz, blues, and classical music, She Who Dared is unlike anything you’ve seen before. This thrilling premiere will feature sopranos Jasmine Habersham, Jacqueline Echols McCarley, Lindsey Reynolds, and mezzo sopranos Chrystal E. Williams, Deborah Nansteel, Leah Dexter, and Cierra Byrd. Conductor Michael Ellis Ingram and director Timothy Douglas make their COT debuts at the helm of the world premiere production, featuring an expanded group of musicians from D-Composed in their first collaboration with COT.

Some stories demand to be sung. She Who Dared unites bold storytelling with breathtaking music to honor the trailblazing heroines of the Civil Rights Movement. Join us as their voices—and their victories—soar!

The World Premiere Production of SHE WHO DARED has been made possible with leadership support from Fred & Phoebe Boelter, Joyce Chelberg, Ethel Gofen, and Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O’Leary. This production is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Additional support for this production has been provided by The Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Amphion Foundation, and The Alice M. Ditson Fund.

COT thanks Nancy Dehmlow and the Morse & Genius Operating Reserve Fund for their generous support of the 2024/25 Season.

SHE WHO DARED was commissioned by American Lyric Theater and developed under the auspices of ALT’s Composer Librettist Development Program. Workshop support for SHE WHO DARED was generously provided by OPERA America’s Repertoire Development Grant Program, with support from The Helen F. Whitaker Fund; Lee Day Gillespie; Lloyd and Mary Ann Gerlach; The Mellon Foundation; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Jasmine Barnes’ commission fee has been underwritten in part by generous support from OPERA America’s Commissioning Grants for Women Composers, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Additional developmental support for Jasmine Barnes has been provided by OPERA America’s Discovery Grant Program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.