In 2020, The Apollo launched the New Works Initiative to expand upon The Apollo’s mission to support the creation of new work by Black artists. Moreover, the expansion of The Apollo’s mission continues to align with Opera Philadelphia’s commitment to presenting innovative programming relevant to the multicultural experience that broadens and diversifies the opera audience.

“When developing work that will seed a new canon that centers the Black experience it is important to not only uplift new stories, but to also seek out all the various ways that those stories are being told. Working with Opera Philadelphia to find and develop those new stories within the art form of opera is exciting not just in terms of process, but what this will mean for access to opera within our community,” said Kelley Girod, Director of New Works at The Apollo.

Since the 2015 world premiere of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, composed by Daniel Schnyder with a libretto by Bridgette A. Wimberly, Opera Philadelphia has commissioned and staged 10 additional world premieres, earning a reputation as one of the world’s leading instigators of new opera. We Shall Not Be Moved, developed by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and director Bill T. Jones, was co-commissioned and co-produced with The Apollo, receiving its world premiere in Philadelphia in September 2017 followed immediately by a New York premiere at The Apollo in October 2017.

“I’ve proudly worked with The Apollo for close to a decade. Our joint efforts and goals have centered Black creative artists, stories, and artistry in an art form in which that is not often the case,” said Sarah Williams, Opera Philadelphia’s Director of New Works and Creative Producer. “An authentic partnership of this magnitude is what dreams are made of and how we create a wonderland of opportunities and experiences. I look forward to expanding upon the foundation we have already built and celebrating what’s to come.”