Obsidian in Concert
Presented by Obsidian Theatre & Tapestry Opera
Following their groundbreaking opera Of the Sea, Obsidian Theatre and Tapestry Opera reunite for a powerful new concert celebrating Black artistry in classical music and opera.
On Saturday, June 14th, join us for one of two performances — a free 45-minute afternoon concert and a stunning 75-minute concert event. Starring baritone Jorell Williams and librettist/performer Kanika Ambrose, this concert honours the Black creators, composers, and performers who have shaped opera’s past and are defining its future.
Experience a journey through legacy and liberation, featuring powerful selections from operatic history alongside contemporary works by visionary Black artists.
This is more than a concert — it’s a celebration, a reclamation, and an inspiring showcase of Black excellence on the opera stage.
Performance Times
2:00 PM – Free Community Concert (45 mins)
8:00 PM – Evening Concert + Reception (75 mins – Dress to Impress!)
Kanika Ambrose
Kanika Ambrose
Co-Curator, Co-Host
Kanika Ambrose is a two-time Dora Award-winning playwright, opera librettist, and screenwriter.
Her plays “Our Place” and “Truth” both earned Dora Awards for “Outstanding New Play” in 2023
and 2024, respectively.
She is a graduate of Canadian Film Centre’s Bell Media Primetime TV Program (2022-2023).
Other notable works: Opera "Of the Sea" (2023) with composer Ian Cusson (Tapestry
Opera/Obsidian Theatre). Concert “The Big Easy: Music of New Orleans” (2024) (Soulpepper),
writer of two pieces on Juno-nominated classical album “Known to Dreamers: Black Voices in
Canadian Arts Song” (2021) (Canadian Art Song Project), Tak-tak-shoo with composer Rene
Orth (Opera Philadelphia).
Kanika is Associate Artistic Director of Necessary Angel Theatre Company and a former Artistic
Producer of Paprika Festival. She was featured as one of Cahoots Theatre Company’s 30 for 30
theatre makers for their 30th anniversary season. This year, she is Tarragon Theatre’s OAC
Playwright in Residence.
Jorell Williams
Jorell Williams
Co-Curator, Co-Host
Baritone Jorell Williams, acclaimed for his “solid vocal core and easy, natural production”
(Opera News) and “deliciously resonant baritone voice” (Broadway World), has been praised by
The Washington Post as “a rock-solid singer with a keen understanding of his own expressive
depths.” He continues to grace major concert halls and opera stages worldwide with his
commanding presence and vocal artistry.
In the 2024–2025 season, Williams appears in Rome Is Falling with the American Modern
Opera Company at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, followed by My Brother’s Keeper with the
New York Festival of Song at The Kauffman Center. He makes his Manitoba Opera debut as
Belcore in L’elisir d’amore and sings the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Columbus.
Other season highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the National Philharmonic,
Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Omaha Symphony, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Choir
St-Laurent at La Maison Symphonique in Montreal. He also headlines Kentucky Opera’s
season-opening Fannie Lou Hamer Tribute Concert.
In the 2023–2024 season, Williams made notable debuts with Opera Omaha, Greek National
Opera, Catapult Opera, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Ottawa Choral Society, and the Canadian
Art Song Project, with return engagements at the National Philharmonic, Brooklyn Art Song
Society, and Tapestry Opera. A native of Brentwood, NY, he made his Off-Broadway debut at
New York City Center Encores production of Kurt Weill's Lost In The Stars, followed by his
Lincoln Center Theater debut in Lynn Nottage and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel (a co-
production with The Metropolitan Opera, filmed for PBS Great Performances).
Williams has toured with the Mark Morris Dance Company, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra,
Chorale Le Chateau, American Modern Ensemble, and Essential Voices USA. He performed
with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in A Celebration of America at
the Kennedy Center for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration and sang in the European
premiere of Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass at the Barbican during the 2012 London Olympics. He
has collaborated with artists such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Damien Sneed, Jon Batiste,
David Lang, and Jennifer Higdon, notably in the Grammy-nominated world premiere of Cold
Mountain with Santa Fe Opera.
His accolades include awards from the Jensen Foundation, Gerda Lissner International
Competition, Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation,
American Traditions Competition, Harlem Opera Theater Competition, National Association of
Negro Musicians (NANM), Liberace Foundation, Serge & Olga Koussevitzky Competition, Civic Morning Musicals, and the Rochester Classical Idol Competition. He holds degrees in music
from the Manhattan School of Music and the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase. He is
also an alumnus of the Composers and the Voice Program at The American Opera Project,
Caramoor International Music Festival’s Bel Canto Program, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and
Songfest at Colburn in Los Angeles. His extensive training includes apprenticeships with Santa
Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Opera North.
Queen Hezumuryango
Queen Hezumuryango
Performer
Originally from Burundi, Queen Hezumuryango holds both her master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Montreal and is a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s 2024-2025 Ensemble Studio. Performance credits include Lola in Cavalleria rusticana (COC), Ebba Sparre in La Reine-garçon (COC), Mercédès in Carmen (COC), and Rosina in The Barber of Seville (Highlands Opera Studio). She was a semifinalist in the OSM Competition in 2021, won an Encouragement Award at the Eastern Region of the Laffont Competition in 2023 and won the Kurt Weill award at the KWF Lotte Lenya Competition in 2025. In 2024, she was named as one of CBC’s “30 hot classical musicians under 30” and nominated for a Dora Award for her work in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. As well, this 2025 laureate of the Jeunes ambassadeurs lyriques du Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 is singing Carmen at Brott Opera in July 2025.
Talisa Blackman
Talisa Blackman
Performer
Talisa is an active keyboardist based in Toronto, specializing in orchestral performance. She has worked with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under the direction of Valery Gergiev, and has performed on multiple Juno award winning orchestral albums. She has appeared as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra among other groups. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with noted vocalists and instrumentalists, including violinist Nicola Benedetti, Russell Braun, Measha Brueggergosman, Betsy Wolfe, Ramin Karimloo, and Jeremy Jordan. Talisa enjoys performing music of all genres, especially video game music, film scores and Broadway tunes, and has also performed with pop artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen, the Moody Blues, and Evanescence. In her spare time she loves reading, gaming, and playing with her two kittens Freddy and Samus.