Donald Dorr

Donald Dorr, librettist of Ulysses Kay’s opera Frederick Douglass, was a co-founder of Opera/South, the producing company for the Mississippi Inter-Collegiate Opera Guild, which was chartered by the State of Mississippi in 1971 to offer students opportunities to work in professional opera productions; to provide a showcase for early-career Black artists; and to introduce opera to new audiences. Opera/South was believed to be the first Black opera company in the United States, garnering early critical acclaim in international journals including Opera and Opera Canada, a performance invitation by The Kennedy Center, and broadcast coverage by Voice of America.

Educated at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and LSU in New Orleans, Dorr studied piano and trained with New Orleans Opera, making his directorial, scenic design, and costume design debuts with the company. Dorr together with his wife, Dolores Ardoyno, later founded Baton Rouge Opera in Louisiana.

Artistically versatile, Dorr was a producer, librettist, and author, writing poetry and publishing articles in several fields. In 1987 he received the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing on American music. Dorr produced, designed, and directed the world premiere of William Grant Still’s opera, A Bayou Legend. He was librettist for several of Ulysses Kay’s compositions, notably The Western Paradise, commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and performed at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall; and the opera Jubilee, which was recorded, later airing on NPR.