SHE WAS THERE
Narration written by LENELLE MOÏSE
David Angus, BLO Music Director
2025/26 Season Sponsor Linda Cabot Black
PERFORMANCES
SUN, JUN 14 | 3:00PM
Approximate running time: 70 minutes with no intermission
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
46 Joy Street
Boston, MA 02114
W Boston Lyric Opera Debut
C Boston Lyric Opera Principal Debut
l Boston Lyric Opera Jane & Steven Akin
Emerging Artist
t Boston Lyric Opera Jane & Steven Akin
Emerging Artist Alum
ARTISTS
Soprano
KEARSTIN PIPER BROWN*
Pianist
ELIKO AKAHORI*
Writer & Speaker
LENELLE MOÏSE*
Violinist
MATTHEW VERA*
Violinist
PAOLA CABALLERO*
Violist
ASHLEIGH GORDON
Cellist
JING LI
Matthew Vera, Paola Caballero, Ashleigh Gordon, and Jing Li are members of Castle of Our Skins.
The pre-show reception in the Susan Paul Room features student performers from Boston Arts Academy.
This program is presented in partnership by Boston Lyric Opera, Castle of our Skins, Everyone250, MA250, Museum of African American History, Roxbury International Film Festival, and West End Museum.
She Was There received funding from a civic practice grant from OPERA America’s Opera Fund.
BLO is a member of OPERA America, the national service organization for opera in the US and Canada.
PROGRAM
PART I: HOME
“I Want To Go Home”
Music by Jessie Montgomery | Traditional Black spiritual
Middleground
Music by Shelley Washington
“Elizabeth Freeman” | Poem by Lenelle Moïse
PART II: MOTHER AND CHILD
“For My Mother, and the Mother I Am”
Music by Mason Bynes | Text by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
“Watch and Pray”
Music by Undine Smith Moore | Traditional Black spiritual
“On Children” | Poem by Lenelle Moïse
PART III: LOVE OF SELF AND FAMILY
“Julie’s Aria” from Omar
Music by Rhiannon Giddens & Michael Abels | Libretto by Rhiannon Giddens
“Phyllis Wheatley” | Poem by Lenelle Moïse
String Quartet in G Major I. Andante Moderato
Music by Florence B. Price
PART IV: WORLD-BUILDING
“Cut Paper Silhouette” | Poem by Lenelle Moïse
“I Am Bound for the Kingdom”
Music by Florence B. Price | Traditional Black spiritual
Arranged by Lilyanne Leccima
“I Want to Go Home”
Dere’s no rain to wet you
O yes, I want to go home.
Dere’s no sun to burn you
O yes, I want to go home.
Dere’s no hard trials
O yes, I want to go home.
Dere’s no whips a-crackin'
“For My Mother, and the Mother I Am”
Two little children sit by my side, I call them Lily and Daffodil; I gaze on them with a mother’s pride, One is Edna, the other is Will.
Both have eyes of starry light, And laughing lips o’er teeth of pearl. I would not change for a diadem
My noble boy and darling girl.
To-night my heart o’erflows with joy; I hold them as a sacred trust; I fain would hide them in my heart, Safe from tarnish of moth and rust.
What should I ask for my dear boy?
The richest gifts of wealth or fame? What for my girl? A loving heart And a fair and a spotless name?
“Watch and Pray”
Mama, is Massa goin’ to sell us tomorrow?
Yes, yes, yes.
Oh, watch and pray.
Is he a-goin’ to sell us down to Georgia?
Yes, yes, yes.
Oh! down to Georgia, watch and pray.
Oh Mama, don’t you grieve after me. Oh, watch and pray.
O yes, I want to go home.
Dere’s no stormy weather
O yes, I want to go home.
Dere’s no slavery in de kingdom
O yes, I want to go home.
All is gladness in de kingdom.
O yes, I want to go home.
What for my boy? That he should stand
A pillar of strength to the state?
What for my girl? That she should be The friend of the poor and desolate?
I do not ask they shall never tread With weary feet the paths of pain. I ask that in the darkest hour They may faithful and true remain.
I only ask their lives may be Pure as gems in the gates of pearl, Lives to brighten and bless the world -This I ask for my boy and girl.
I ask to clasp their hands again ’Mid the holy hosts of heaven, Enraptured say: “I am here, oh! God, And the children Thou has given.”
“Julie’s Aria” from Omar My daddy wore a cap like yours. He got down on his knees and he faced the rising sun, and he did it again when the day was done. And he wouldn’t eat this, and he wouldn’t eat that, no matter the lean, no matter the fat.
He drove my mama crazy, but she loved him anyway. They found each other in the darkness; the way they looked at the world wasn’t the same. But the way that they looked at each other, there was the flame.
They sold my daddy down when I was ten; I’ve never grown as fast as I did then.
The last look in his eyes was for me and her. I’ll never forget the family we were.
“I Am Bound for the Kingdom” I am bound for the Kingdom, I am bound for the Kingdom, I am bound for the Kingdom, glory in my soul!
If you get there before I do, glory in my soul, look out for me, I’m a-comin' too, glory in my soul.
I am bound for the Kingdom, I am bound for the Kingdom, I am bound for the Kingdom, glory in my soul.
No matter what they say, our hearts beat red, just like theirs. No matter what they say, our tears get shed, just like theirs.
Some men, they came a-courtin' after that, but they ate all the lean, they ate all the fat.
They drove my mama crazy, and she sent them all away.
We find each other in the darkness; the way we look at the world isn’t the same. But the way our hearts can see each other, there is the flame. There is the light! Ain’t no shame to hold on tight to memories, to histories, to feelings. It’s healing. So, remember it all! I do. What else do we have?
KEARSTIN PIPER BROWN | Soprano
Award-winning American soprano Kearstin Piper Brown graces leading opera and concert stages worldwide with her distinctive artistry and radiant presence. This season, she returned to The Metropolitan Opera covering Bess in Porgy and Bess and made her Utah Opera debut as Wendy Torrance in The Shining. Engagements also include Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Handel’s Messiah at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, performances of Porgy and Bess with Dayton Opera and Gulfshore Opera, a debut with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, and Poppea in The Comet/Poppea. Recent highlights include Alice Ford in Falstaff, Mimì in La bohème, and Poppea at Lincoln Center with the American Modern Opera Company. She received the 2022 World Theatre Award and multiple nominations for Intimate Apparel, later broadcast on PBS Great Performances. Ms. Brown has appeared at Carnegie Hall and with major orchestras across the United States and Europe, and is recognized for her work in both contemporary opera and standard repertoire.
ELIKO AKAHORI | Pianist
Eliko Akahori has performed in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Recent projects include a recording with Midori and A Far Cry, a world premiere of Reinaldo Moya’s It was turning in a circle for two pianos, and a recital with flautist KarlHeinz Schütz. Past collaborators in recitals, chamber music concerts, and recordings include members of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Chicago, Montreal, Boston, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. In the Boston area, Ms. Akahori has appeared in concerts with A Far Cry, Winsor Music, Monadnock Music, and has performed regularly with Cantata Singers and Community MusicWorks. She received first prize in the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition and has performed in many festivals, including the Banff Centre in Canada, IMAI in Maine, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan. Ms. Akahori is currently a performance faculty member and director of the music performance program at Wellesley College. She holds a DMA in collaborative piano and a master’s degree in music theory, both from the New England Conservatory of Music; and a bachelor’s
degree in composition from the Kunitachi College of Music. Upon graduating, she was invited to perform for the Japanese Emperor’s family at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
LENELLE MOÏSE | Writer & Speaker
Lenelle Moïse is a poet, playwright, and songwriter. She wrote the romantic comedy K-I-S-S-I-N-G, winner of the 2023 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script, a national finalist for the 2024 Steinberg/ American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, and an international finalist for the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. The full playscript of K-I-S-S-I-N-G is published in the Spring 2025 issue of American Theatre magazine. Moïse also wrote, composed, and co-starred in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play Expatriate. Her full-length script Merit won The Ruby Prize An accomplished solo performer, she has been a guest artist at dozens of colleges and venues including the United Nations, Poets House, Lincoln Center, the Norton Museum of Art, and the International Museum of Women. Her book of poems, Haiti Glass (City Lights Books), won the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award. She is currently working on WRIT RITM, a song cycle commissioned by the Huntington Theatre. Visit lenellemoise.com for more info.
MATTHEW VERA | Violinist
Mexican-American violinist Matthew Vera is known for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader. He has played with the Boston Philharmonic’s first violin section since 2010 and is occasionally a guest concertmaster. He began his tenure as concertmaster of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in 2024. Vera performs with Boston Ballet, the Portland Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project, among others. He has spent the last two summers as concertmaster of the American Repertory Theatre’s productions of Evita and Gatsby. In chamber music, Vera is a violinist with Castle of Our Skins, Aurea Ensemble, Radius Ensemble, Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Monadnock Music. He has attended numerous festivals, including Tanglewood, the Heifetz Institute, Brevard, and Green
Mountain Chamber Music Festival. Vera’s early musical training was fostered through the Tucson Unified Public Schools and Tucson Junior Strings, a unique conductorless orchestra training program for young people. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, where he studied with James Buswell, Lucy Chapman, and Donald Weilerstein. His mentors have included the Borromeo String Quartet, Roger Tapping, Martha Katz, and John Heiss.
PAOLA CABALLERO | Violinist
Paola Caballero spent over a decade in Barcelona as a member of the Cadaqués Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona y Nacional de Catalunya. With both ensembles, she toured throughout Europe and made numerous recordings. She has performed with artists like Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Ray Chen, Lang Lang, Plácido Domingo, Michael Bublé, Chaka Khan, Madeleine Peyroux, Joni Mitchell, and Andrew Bocelli. She performs and records with ensembles like BMOP, Odyssey Opera, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Back Bay Chorale, Boston Ballet, and recently joined the Chamber Orchestra of the United Nations with its debut performance at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Caballero is Executive Director of the Lexington Chamber Music Center, Artistic Director of Point CounterPoint Chamber Music Festival, and Music Director of Symphonia at Phillips Exeter Academy. She also teaches at the NEC Preparatory School, Project STEP, and Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. She holds a postgraduate diploma from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the New England Conservatory. She has studied with David Takeno, Masuko Ushioda, Eric Rosenblith, Lucy Chapman, and worked with Lorand Fenyves and Erika Raum at the Royal Conservatory, the institution that sponsored her use of a 1686 Nicolò Amati instrument.
ASHLEIGH GORDON | Violist
Ashleigh Gordon has recorded with Ensemble Proton and Ensemble Modern, performed with BMOP and A Far Cry, and appeared at the BBC Proms with the Chineke! Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall with Gateways Music Festival. She has performed internationally in venues like Royal Albert Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Dampfzentrale Bern, Centre Pompidou, and Lee Hysan
Concert Hall. Gordon is cofounder, artistic director, and violist of Castle of Our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black artistry through music. She was awarded the 2016 Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from AFM and is a 2019 Brother Thomas Fellow. In 2020, she was nominated for the Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities and named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25.” She has presented lectures on citizen artistry and entrepreneurship, workshops for fellow educators, guest lectures, and frequently appears as a panelist discussing diversity in classical music. She is on the Board of Directors for Project STEP and serves on the Steering Committee for the Boston Cultural Leaders Coalition. Gordon is a graduate of New England Conservatory, Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt, and Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. For more information, visit violashe.com and castleskins.org
JING LI | Cellist
Cellist Jing Li has performed internationally as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has made solo appearances with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony of Louisiana, Indiana University Orchestra, Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, and Cuenca Symphony Orchestra in Ecuador. Past collaborators include Miriam Fried, Donald Weilerstein, Lawrence Wolfe, and the Borromeo String Quartet. She has participated in festivals like the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists. Born in Beijing, Ms. Li immigrated to the U.S. at age three and received her first cello lessons from her father, Tien Sheng Li. She holds an M.M. with Academic Honors and Distinction in Performance from New England Conservatory, and a B.M. from Rice University. She is a top prizewinner in the Corpus Christi International String Competition and the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. Ms. Li performs with A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, and BMOP. She was a former member of the Portland Piano Trio and taught students through 240 Strings, an organization focused on musical education for students from diverse backgrounds. She is currently a faculty member of New England Conservatory’s Expanded Education program.
– FREDERICK DOUGLASS
entire creative team of "She Was There" on this remarkable production.
foster artistic and personal growth, openness through understanding, discipline through performance, and love of learning through study. By exploring a wide variety of musical experiences, we discover the connection between music and community and lay a foundation for achievement. As creative thinkers and active listeners, we develop a broader understanding of both the new and the familiar, and use music as a lens for viewing life and the world.
The Vivo Performing Arts 2026/27 season is here, with two special Boston Lyric Opera collaborations showcasing soprano Nadine Sierra and the luminous duo Lawrence Brownlee and Erin Morley’s The Golden Age, featuring arias and duets from some of the most beloved and beautiful operas of the bel canto period. Add the storytelling glamour of Audra McDonald, the powerhouse presence of LaChanze, and more, for a year of performances that linger long after the lights go down.
MAIN FLOOR BALCONY
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
All performances begin on time. To respect the enjoyment of others, BLO observes a no-late seating policy. While we understand that traffic conditions, public transportation, weather, and other factors can have unexpected effects on your arrival, we wish to minimize disruptions for our seated patrons and for our artists on stage. Additionally, if you must leave during the performance, reentry may be prohibited.
As a courtesy to the artists and for the comfort of those around you, please turn off mobile phones, watch alarms, and other devices with audible signals prior to the start of the performance. The use of cameras or recording devices in the theater is strictly prohibited. For BLO productions & subscriptions, visit BLO.org or call BLO Audience Services at 617.542.6772, MON-FRI | 10-5.
EXITS
Fire exits in the Museum of African American History’s African Meeting House are marked. The exit closest to your seat indicates the shortest route out of the building. In the event of a fire or other emergency, calmly walk to the closest exit and proceed outside to street level, using stairs only (not elevators). If an evacuation is needed, please follow the instructions of staff.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Museum of African American History’s African Meeting House is fully accessible. Please request wheelchair seating from a sales representative at time of purchase. Please contact BLO’s Audience Services team at 617.542.6772 or email boxoffice@blo.org for assistance.
Mask wearing is no longer required for most performances and events, but strongly encouraged at all times while in the performance space.
