Most of the music in Harriet Tubman is rooted in traditional African-American folk idioms,' she said. “Which is slightly different from regular opera. Using that research, Okoye created what is called a “folk opera.” Nkeiru Okoye (Courtesy of American Opera Projects) “I spent three years getting to know Harriet's world,” she said.

Instead, she was inspired to dig into the true story of Tubman, rather than the legend. “When I started this process, I wanted to pay tribute to Harriet Tubman by writing a highly fictionalized account of her,” she said. And Okoye says she originally set out to add to that tradition. There are many tall tales about Tubman’s life. “Harriet, who became known as ‘Moses,’ was the most famous conductor in the U.S,” said Okoye. The people who ran the Railroad were called “conductors.”

Tubman helped arrange a series of safe houses and hiding places called The Underground Railroad, that escaped slaves used to reach freedom. “But she became famous because she went back down to rescue the rest of her family and anyone else that would go with her,” Okoye said.

Civil War would be fought between northern and southern states over the question of slavery, Tubman escaped to the north and freedom. Tubman was born into slavery in the state of Maryland around 1820.

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