By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

The name Sissieretta Joyner Jones may not be familiar to most people, but she was a talented opera singer who performed in front of President Benjamin Harrison, toured Europe and was hailed by George Bernard Shaw, writing in a review about her "wonderful instrument with its grand range, its birdlike agility and charm of execution."

Unfortunately, because of her race, Jones was not allowed to take the American opera stage and was relegated to Vaudeville.

Jones is a focal point in "The Opera Singer," a three-act opera written by Fayette County resident Dr. Sharon J. Willis. Willis is the director of the Morris Brown College Concert Choir. She wrote the music and the libretto for the opera and is also its director.

The plot of "The Opera Singer" is a light-humored opera dealing with the anxieties and joys of a musical career. The first act opens with five girls trying out for the lead role in "Sissieretta" and awaiting call backs, while the second act focuses on one of the hopeful singers at church, trying to decide which choir to sing with.

The third act goes back to 1892 and is titled "Sissieretta." The scene features great singers of the period and centers on the fact that Jones was not accepted into the Met or any American opera company.

Jones triumphs nonetheless, forming a touring group known as "Black Patti and the Troubadours." They tour Vaudeville and end up performing in Madison Square Garden.

Willis is a world class composer, soprano, lecture recital artist, voice teacher, choral director, poet and historic re-enactor. She holds degrees from the University of Georgia (doctorate in vocal performance); Georgia State University (master of music in theory) Scaritt Graduate School in Tennessee (master of church music - conducting) and Clark College (now Clark-Atlanta University), bachelor of arts-music.

"The Opera Singer" is her first opera and it opened in April to critical acclaim. It will be performed Saturday, Oct. 21 at the City Auditorium in East Point at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20-$30 and can be purchased at East Point Antiques, across from City Hall, Our Heritage Books and Gifts at Shannon Mall in Union City and the Shrine of the Black Madonna Cultural Center at 946 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., SW Atlanta.

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