Adolphus C. Hailstork (b. 1941)
is featured at AfriClassical.com
Paul Leroy Robeson (1898-1976)
Kevin Maynor
Posted date: June 19, 2013
By G.R. Mattox
By G.R. Mattox
Ten years ago, Kevin Maynor, the operatic singer with the deep, bass
voice and his beloved city of Newark were both insulted by a man who
said that the city was not a good enough place to locate a record store.
This year, the state’s largest municipality and Maynor will celebrate
the anniversary of a cultural institution that has ambitious plans for
expansion.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Trilogy, An Opera Company
will mount a production of Robeson, a new opera written by Adolphus
Hailstork, with the libretto by Shaunelle Perry. The opera is based on
the life of New Jersey native and Rutgers University graduate Paul Leroy
Robeson (1898-1976); the scholar, athlete, singer and civil rights
activist was revered for his immense talents, yet today has been all but
erased from popular history because of his political beliefs.
“I’m so excited about it,” said Maynor, who goes on to describe the
subject of this opera as “the most complete, comprehensive figure that
has existed on the earth; who has affected more change than any other
person I can think of in every true sense of the word… He would take his
struggle, which was trying to persuade America to accept black people,
and make it relative to the struggles of people all over the world…
There’s no movie or television show that could really capture the beauty
of Robeson’s music and the power of his life,” he continued, “so it
makes it an incredibly difficult task for a composer, but Adolphus is up
to it.”
Trilogy focuses on the works of black composers as well as works
reflective of the black experience using artists across the world. Over
the past 10 years, Trilogy has produced operas on such subjects as
Darfur, the three black Newark mayors and the four little girls killed
in the 1963 Birmingham bombing. They have also profiled such historical
figures as Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Emmitt
Till.
...
These subjects are not only the basis of high-quality entertainment,
but also learning experiences. “Oftentimes I will choose a subject and
force everyone to do a little homework to study these individuals and
find out their relevancy to their own existence,” Maynor said. “They
get tied in.”
The schedule for Robeson includes preview performances August 3 at
the Central Theater (Central High School) in Newark and at First
Corinthians Baptist Church in Harlem on September 14. Excerpts from the
opera will be performed at NJPAC on November 3, leading to the world
premiere, again at NJPAC in March 2014. It can also be seen over the
summer at Kip’s Castle in Verona, and performances are planned in
Buffalo, NY and Norfolk, VA.
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