Obsidian in Concert
Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 8 pm
Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre
A Tapestry Opera concert in partnership with Obsidian Theatre Company
Following the groundbreaking success of Of the Sea, Obsidian Theatre and Tapestry Opera reunite for a new artistic collaboration celebrating Black excellence in classical music and opera.
This concert honours the Black creators, composers, and performers who have shaped opera’s past and are defining its future. Experience a journey through legacy and liberation, featuring powerful selections from operatic history alongside contemporary works by visionary Black artists. This is a celebration, a reclamation, and an inspiring showcase of Black excellence on the opera stage.
Thank you to the City of Toronto, Councillor Dianne Saxe, and the ABC Residents Association for their instrumental and invaluable support in the creation of the Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre.
Kanika Ambrose
Co-Curator, Co-Host
Jorell Williams
Co-Curator, Co-Host, Singer, Piano
Queen Hezumuryango
Singer
Talisa Blackman
Piano
Kanika Ambrose
Kanika Ambrose is a two-time Dora Award-winning playwright, opera librettist, and screenwriter. Her plays “Our Place” and “Truth” both earned Dora Awards for “Outstanding New Play” in 2023 and 2024, respectively. She is a graduate of Canadian Film Centre’s Bell Media Primetime TV Program (2022-2023).
Jorell Williams
Baritone Jorell Williams, acclaimed for his “solid vocal core and easy, natural production” (Opera News) and “deliciously resonant baritone voice” (Broadway World), has been praised by The Washington Post as “a rock-solid singer with a keen understanding of his own expressive depths.” He continues to grace major concert halls and opera stages worldwide with his commanding presence and vocal artistry.
Queen Hezumuryango
Originally from Burundi, Queen Hezumuryango holds both her master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Montreal and is a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s 2024-2025 Ensemble Studio. Performance credits include Lola in Cavalleria rusticana (COC), Ebba Sparre in La Reine-garçon (COC), Mercédès in Carmen (COC), and Rosina in The Barber of Seville (Highlands Opera Studio).
Talisa Blackman
Talisa is an active keyboardist based in Toronto, specializing in orchestral performance. She has worked with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Esprit Orchestra, and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, under the direction of Valery Gergiev. She has performed on multiple Juno Award-winning orchestral albums.
Repertoire
Deep River
Arranged by Shawn Okpebholo
Performed by Jorell Williams
Don’t You Let Nobody
Turn You ‘Round
Arranged by Lena McLin
Performed by Jorell Williams
Among The Fuchsias
Composed by Harry T. Burleigh
Text by Laurence Hope
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
Jungle Flower
Composed by Harry T. Burleigh
Text by Laurence Hope
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
A Song Without Words
Composed by Charles Samuel Brown
Performed by Jorell Williams
Minstrel Man
Composed by Margaret Bonds
Text by Langston Hughes
Performed by Jorell Williams
Dream Variation
Composed by Margaret Bonds
Text by Langston Hughes
Performed by Jorell Williams
I, Too
Composed by Margaret Bonds
Text by Langston Hughes
Performed by Jorell Williams
Drums of Tragedy
Composed by H. Leslie Adams
Text by Langston Hughes
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
The Sacred Tree
Words and music by Scott Joplin
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
The Cascades
Words and music by Scott Joplin
Performed by Talisa Blackman
Creole Girl
Composed by H. Leslie Adams
Text by Leslie Morgan Collins
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
George Armstrong from Intimate Apparel
Composed by Ricky Ian Gordon
Libretto by Lynn Nottage
Performed by Jorell Williams
We Should Stay Here from Of the Sea
Composed by Ian Cusson
Libretto by Kanika Ambrose
Performed by Jorell Williams
Go Figure from Blue
Composed by Jeanine Tesori
Libretto by Tazewell Thompson
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
Go Down Moses / Americana
Arranged by Jorell Williams
Performed by Jorell Williams
Blue Lullaby
Composed by Jorell Williams
Performed by Jorell Williams
A Child is Born
Arrangement by Oscar Peterson
Performed by Talisa Blackman
Poème d’Automne
Composed by Margaret Bonds
Text by Langston Hughes
Performed by Queen Hezumuryango
I Dream A World
Composed by Damien Sneed
Text by Langston Hughes
Performed by Jorell Williams
Runaway
Composed by Jorell Williams
Performed by Talisa Blackman
Morning
Composed by Will Liverman
Text by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Performed by Jorell Williams
