Exploring the Adirondack Folk Opera at Mountain Lake PBS

This series of Spotlight video stories and exclusive interview clips from Mountain Lake PBS invites you behind-the-scenes and on the stage, as a work in progress aims to become a full scale opera.

About the Adirondack Folk Opera

In the 1850s, abolitionist Gerrit Smith (with John Brown, Frederick Douglass and others) gave away over 120,000 acres of Adirondack farmland to 3,000 free blacks in an attempt to fulfill New York State’s onerous property requirement necessary for blacks to vote. This opera brings this complex struggle to life with deeply emotional melodies, driving 19th century dance rhythms and the dramatic struggle for racial equality and inclusive democracy.

We seek support for writing the libretto (the script) and completing the musical score. This will take a team of writers, musicians and scholars. Once this is done, we  can proceed to the final phase of a fully-staged production! Contact us for more information.