Michael Abels: A Great Privilege

“It’s a great privilege to bring Omar to San Francisco.” And so notes Matthew Shilvock, General Director of the San Francisco Opera, on the eve of the opera company’s November 5, 2023 performance of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Abels – and fellow Pulitzer Prize-winning co-composer/librettist Rhiannon Giddens’ – opera, Omar. The work was commissioned by […]

Abels: Omar wins The Pulitzer!

Congratulations to co-composers Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels on being awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music for their first opera Omar. The Pulitzer Prize Citation reads: “Omar, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. Premiered on May 27, 2022 at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, S.C., an innovative and compelling opera about the enslaved […]