Treemonisha, son deuxième opéra, est un exemple concret et éloquent de la musique "sérieuse" qu'il compose afin de s'ouvrir les portes du cercle classique. Les thèmes précurseurs : l'éducation, la non-violence et le rôle de la femme.

Dubbed the "king of ragtime" by his music publisher, Scott Joplin (1868 - 1917) was a formally educated musician whose popular piano rags inspired him to go on to compose on a larger, far more developed scale and conception. His second opera, Treemonisha, an example of his most serious work, was published in 1911 at his own expense. The story of a young woman who defies her social and racial background and works her way up the social ladder, trading on education and non-violence.