Mary Cardwell Dawson play explores racism in opera and the tenacity to overcome
When it comes to the music industry, one pioneering female seems to get short shrift for her contributions, and the Pittsburgh Opera is taking measures to change that with the final production of their 2023-2024 season. “The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson,” a 70-minute play with music, will resonate with all audiences who can appreciate one woman’s tenacity as she strives to overcome the obstacles placed in her way by a segregated society.
“Dawson was a teacher and a pianist whose goal was to provide access for African Americans to perform on stage for all audiences,” said Rebekah Diaz, director of IDEA Initiatives and Community Engagement, Pittsburgh Opera.
The Genesis of a Movement
Dawson was born in 1894 in Madison, North Carolina and later studied music at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. When she graduated in the 1920s, she was the only African American in her class and faced discrimination in pursuing a career in opera. This inspired her to become an advocate for black musicians.
When she later married Walter Dawson, his work as a master electrician brought the couple to Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood where she opened the Cardwell Dawson School of Music.
After performing the opera “Aida” at the National Association of Negro Musicians in 1941, Dawson launched the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC). According to Diaz, the NNOC was headquartered on Apple Street in Homewood and was where aspiring black musicians trained. (The building is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar restoration.)
“The Dawsons later moved to Washington, D.C., where much of the play takes place,” said Diaz, explaining that as the story unfolds, the audience learns what it’s like to feel Dawson’s frustrations after she moved the NNOC to our nation’s capital.
Christopher Hahn, General Director, explains that the play was commissioned by the Glimmerglass Festival where it premiered in Cooperstown, New York in 2021. It begins with Dawson, played by Alyson Cambridge, dealing with foreboding weather that threatens a performance which is to take place on a floating barge.
“Dawson is on and off the phone attempting to secure an indoor venue since her productions were taking place on the banks of the Potomac to escape segregationist policies,” said Hahn.
Call after call yields nothing but vexation for Dawson and the original music, written by award-winning Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon, encapsulates those feelings.
“The songs that are performed are newly composed pieces about her challenges, aspirations, determination and vision,” said Hahn.
Dawson’s dream to provide access for African Americans to perform on stages for all audiences changed the future of opera, according to Hahn. Having founded the longest-running all-Black opera company in Pittsburgh and then later organizing opera guilds in the country’s biggest cities, Dawson would also go on to train hundreds of African American youths to sing.
With Dawson’s determination and perseverance, the NNOC expanded and opened chapters in Chicago, New York and Cleveland. Today the original building in Pittsburgh has been designated as a historical landmark.
Written by Award-winning playwright Mark Twain and librettist Sandra Seaton, “The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson” is a not-to-be missed performance for anyone who is inspired by tales of brave individuals who, with grit and determination, succeed in following their dreams, while, at the same time opening doors for others.
If you go:
Where: Byham Theater, downtown Pittsburgh
When: Saturday, April 27 at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m.
Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 5 at 3 p.m.