Edmond Dédé: "Morgiane ou Le Sultan d'Ispahan"
For Your GRAMMY® Consideration
For Your GRAMMY® Voting Consideration:
Edmond Dédé: Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d’Ispahan
Best Opera Recording
“After 138 years, a Black composer’s magnum opus finds a stage.”
– NPR
In January of 2026, OperaCréole and Opera Lafayette partnered with Delos to release the world premiere recording of the earliest complete opera by a Black American.
The discovery of Edmond Dédé’s unedited manuscript of Morgiane (1887) inspired a rescue mission across time that would eventually realize the composer’s long-held ambition. Now, more than a century after its completion, Morgiane is finally able to be heard in its entirety thanks to the tireless work of OperaCréole founder Givonna Joseph, Opera Lafayette conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley, and countless others along the way.
Edmond Dédé: Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d’Ispahan (1887)
BEST OPERA RECORDING
Morgiane is the earliest extant opera by a Black American composer. This historic performance represents its long-delayed World Premiere both on stage and on recording.
Performed by OperaCréole & Opera Lafayette, featuring Mary Elizabeth Williams, Kenneth Kellogg, Nicole Cabell, Joshua Conyers, Chauncey Packer, and Jonathan Woody.
Conducted by Patrick Dupre Quigley
Artistic Direction: Givonna Joseph
Producer: James K. Bass
Recording: Antonino d’Urzo
Mastering: John Polito
Label: Delos
Release Date: 30 January, 2026
DE3628, Delos
Mary Elizabeth Williams: "Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d'Ispahan, IV: Petite bague taillée"
Delos partners with Opera Lafayette and OperaCréole to present this world premiere recording of the earliest complete opera by a Black American. This recording is not a revival – it is a revelation.
“This live recording is not a revival—it is a revelation.”
- Opera Today
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Artists
Rediscovering America's rich musical history
Mary Elizabeth Williams, soprano*
Morgiane
Opéra National de Paris, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, San Francisco Symphony
Kenneth Kellogg, bass*
Sultan Kourouschah
Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera
Joshua Conyers, baritone
Haggi Hassan
Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, New York Philharmonic
Nicole Cabell, soprano*
Amine (DC, NYC, MD)
Metropolitan Opera, Cardiff Singer of the World, Royal Opera House
Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone
Beher
Boston Early Music Festival, Apollo’s Fire, Carmel Bach Festival
* Opera Lafayette debut
“a tribute to all the Black musicians who were never rightfully championed, paying homage to his artistic triumph and substantial place in the history of American opera.”
- Black Enterprise
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"'Morgiane’ displays sufficient inspiration that it would have merited attention no matter who had composed it. With Dédé’s personal story in mind, the undertaking became essential."
- The New Yorker
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Featured In
Browse worldwide media features & reviews on Dédé's Morgiane
“One of the more interesting musical revelations of recent years...”
- Wall Street Journal
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About Producers & Partners
This project is a collaboration undertaken by the two foremost companies in the United States with respective expertise in historical Black and French opera:
OperaCréole (New Orleans, LA) is dedicated to researching and presenting lost or rarely performed works by composers of African descent. The company focuses on works by 19th-century New Orleanian free composers of color, and also on promoting Louisiana’s Creole language and culture. Led by founders Givonna Joseph and Aria Mason, OperaCréole musicians are professional artists, educators, and international soloists with roots in New Orleans, where the first opera season in what is now the United States premiered in 1796.
Founded in 1995, Opera Lafayette is known for bringing rarely heard early opera to life through historically informed performance, scholarly discovery, and a distinguished recording legacy. The company has introduced audiences to extraordinary music and stories, including the modern world premiere of Rameau’s Io and, in collaboration with OperaCréole, the historic world premiere of Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane.
Under Artistic Director Patrick Dupre Quigley, Opera Lafayette builds on founder Ryan Brown’s 30-year legacy with a spirit of curiosity, collaboration, and discovery. Performing in Washington, DC, and New York City, the company invites audiences to experience centuries-old music with fresh ears.
Opera Lafayette is grateful for the help of our community partners, including the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts, the Folger Shakespeare Library, Opera America, and Opera Ebony, and Historic New Orleans Collection in this world premiere presentation.
The world premiere performances of Morgiane are supported in part by generous gifts from Ford Foundation, The Kenneth Gorelick Fund for Opera Lafayette recordings, supported by a generous gift from Cheryl Gorelick, National Endowment for the Arts, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Capital Hill Community Foundation, David Webb and W. Lynn McLaughlin, and The School of Music and Clarice Presents at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Maryland.
