“Morgaine,” a forgotten opera written by Black composer in 1855, performed for the first time

“Morgiane” was the magnum opus of New Orleans-born composer Edmond Dede. The opera, based on themes from “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves,” tells the story of a mother, Morgaine, and her daughter, Amine, who fight a tyrannical ruling sultan. Behind the curtain is Dede’s remarkable story. 

Dede was born a free Black man in New Orleans in 1827. He was educated and moved to France in 1855, leaving just before the Civil War. In France, he studied music at the Paris Conservatoire and performed at Bordeaux’s Grand Theatre. He also traveled to Algeria, then a French colony, and was inspired by the struggle of the people there. 

Dede returned to the U.S. once, during the height of the Jim Crow era. He was not permitted to perform in theaters, and went back to Europe, vowing that he would never return to his home country. 

Dede went on to write 250 songs, ballets and orchestral pieces. The 545-page “Morgaine” was his magnum opus, but it was never performed during his lifetime. 

In 2014, New Orleans Opera Creole founders Givonna Joseph and Aria Mason found a digital copy of “Morgaine.” Opera Creole shares music by composers of African descent, and when they found the piece, they knew they needed to bring it to an audience. 

“I had, you know how you get, a gut feeling that this was important,” Joseph said. “I didn’t know exactly how.” 

Patrick Quigley, the artistic director designate of Washington, D.C.’s Opera Lafayette, was eager to join the mission. He and Joseph connected in 2023, and they began working with musicians and historians from across the country to bring the never-performed opera to life. First, they transcribed almost 6,000 measures of music into modern notation. When the process was done, they heard music that hadn’t been played in over a century. 

“It’s this fabulous combination of so many different styles of music, both European and American all together in one place,” Quigley said. 

Excerpts from “Morgaine” were played at New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral on January 24. The church was likely the site of Dede’s baptism. The entire opera was performed at Opera Lafayette for the first time on Feb. 3.

“It was an incredible moment for Washington, D.C., and it was an incredible moment for American music,” said Quigley, who conducted the performance.

There were also two other performances, one in New York City and one in College Park, Maryland. The brief tour served as a kind of homecoming for Dede, said Joseph. 

“I think he’s a New Orleans hero,” she said.