Thursday, September 12, 2019

Sergio Mims: Lyric Opera of Chicago: Spotlight on BLUE


Lyric Opera of Chicago

BLUE — A POWERFUL NEW 
OPERA
In June 2020, Lyric Opera presents 
Blue, a new opera inspired by true 
events. A Black couple experiences 
the joys and fears of raising a son 
in 21st century America. When 
forced to face a devastating loss, 
the family is left to question their 
faith and the systems meant to 
protect them.

What makes Blue a must-see?
  • Jeanine Tesori, Tony Award-winner and 
  • composer of five Broadway musicals, 
  • wrote a hauntingly beautiful score for 
  • Blue.
  • This Midwest premiere is in English 
  • with projected texts, ensuring that you 
  • won't miss a word of Tazewell 
  • Thompson's moving libretto.
  • The phenomenal cast features Kenneth 
  • Kellogg and Aaron Crouch reprising 
  •  their roles as The Father and The Son, 
  • plus Taylor Raven as The Mother and 
  • Mark Rucker as The Reverend joining 
  • the cast for Lyric's production.
  • This intimate, small scale production 
  • will be presented at The Yard at 
  • Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Blue comes to The Yard next June — don't 
miss it! Save your seats today online or 
over the phone at 312.827.5600.

"Drawing on her deep experience in 
musical theater, her keen ear for 
elements of contemporary classical music 
and her abundant imagination, Ms. Tesori 
has written a strong yet subtle score that 
avoids the obvious and exudes a personal 
voice...Mr. Thompson, who also directed 
the production, has written one of the 
most elegant librettos I’ve heard in a long 
time."
— The New York Times


INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS AND BLACK 
LITERATURE
Inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates’s award-winning 
Between the World and Me and James 
Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, Blue explores 
race, violence, and reconciliation, and places 
timely issues at the  forefront of the opera.





A NOTE FROM THE LIBRETTIST
"The times are fraught. Lit by lightning and
divisiveness. Love, family, friends and the
church are there when we need them. And
we need them now. We need a song to
soothe our sorrows as we confront painful,
personal truths. We need music in our lives
and our children near to help us repair
heartache; music to ultimately lift us and
celebrate the bonds of sisterhood and
brotherhood togetherness."
      —Tazewell Thompson, librettist and
director

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