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 recenters the spotlight on the courageous women who helped desegregate the Montgomery bus system in the 1950s. These Civil Rights pioneers pay homage to the quiet struggle for justice that has often gone unknown – further amplifying the effects of the historic case of Browder V Gayle. While often riotous and sometimes hilarious, these women demonstrate how everyday people have the power to challenge the systems around them and affect tangible change – if only they dare.

She Who Dared will feature sopranos Jasmine Habersham, Jacqueline Echols, 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.  

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

The World Premiere Production of SHE WHO DARED at Chicago Opera Theater has been made possible with generous support from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Amphion Foundation, and The Alice M. Ditson Fund.

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.