A souvenir from the world premiere production of what may be the oldest opera by a Black American composer in existence. Edmond Dédé was born in 1827 in New Orleans as a free person of color. As the century wore on, life became increasingly difficult for the composer in New Orleans, and around 1855 he left the country permanently to work in Bordeaux, France, where he became something of a celebrity, composing and conducting orchestral pieces, ballets, and one-act operettas. But he faced prejudice in France as well, and Morgiane, which he completed at the age of 60, was never staged. The manuscript was rediscovered in 2008 in a trove of manuscripts that Harvard had acquired from a Paris music dealer. A few years later it came to the attention of Givonna Joseph, the founder of OperaCréole, and she made contact with Patrick Dupre Quigley, the artistic director of Opera Lafayette. Their partnership eventually resulted in multiple productions of the opera in 2025 and in this recording. The starry cast includes Mary Elizabeth Williams in the title role, with Nicole Cabell, Kenneth Kellogg, Joshua Conyers, Chauncey Packer, and Jonathan Woody.