Stanford Live will commission and present the April 2020 world premiere of a reimagining of Scott Joplin’s 1911 opera Treemonisha. The collaborating artists will bring an entirely new libretto and expanded musical language to the piece, honoring Joplin’s vision while creating a work reborn for our times. In Treemonisha’s new story, an African-descended community has been split in the aftermath of slavery. One side remained on the plantations, endured slavery, and found solace in the church. Others escaped, and from their forest hiding places, rekindled spiritual practices carried to the Americas from Africa. Treemonisha, part of a plantation community, also flees, into a painful journey toward self-knowledge. Ultimately, she undertakes to mend the torn fabric of her two communities, and for her efforts is elected their leader.