Leading up to the world premiere production of She Who Dared, COT is partnering with the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center for a free concert – Sounds of Progress: Opera and the Civil Rights Movement – on Saturday May 10, 2025 at 2pm. This special community event is being presented as part of the Museum’s focus throughout the month of May on the people, places, and events that helped shape and define the era of The Civil Rights Movement. Through powerful music and storytelling, this concert will explore the role of opera in amplifying the voices of those who fought for civil rights, including a preview from She Who Dared alongside scenes from Loving v. Virginia (Damien Geter/Jessica Murphy Moo), Appomattox (Philip Glass/Christopher Hampton), X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Anthony Davis/Thulani Davis), Freedom Ride (Dan Shore), This Little Light of Mine (Chandler Carter/Diana Solomon Glover), and others.

Sounds of Progress: Opera and the Civil Rights Movement has been made possible with generous support from the Robert & Isabelle Bass Foundation, Inc.

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