THE AMERICAN OPERA PROJECT HONORS SOPRANO ANGEL BLUE AND PRODUCER CHARLES JARDEN FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OPERA DEC. 6, 2020 at 7pm EST

THE AMERICAN OPERA PROJECT HONORS SOPRANO ANGEL BLUE AND PRODUCER CHARLES JARDEN FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OPERA AND SERVICE TO COMMUNITIES

DECEMBER 6, 2020 at 7pm EST

Dedications to be made at December benefit

November 16, 2020

Brooklyn, NY -The American Opera Project announces fermata, a virtual benefit to be held on Sunday, December 6th at 7pm EST. Soprano Angel Blue and producer Charles Jarden will be honored for their contributions to the world of opera and their communities.

Attendance at the benefit is free ($40 suggested donation) for the 7pm event, hosted by Jorell Williams, and limited spots are available for a 6pm VIP pre-show experience.

fermata will be a celebration of music and two honorees: Metropolitan Opera soprano and founder of the non-profit organization Sylvia’s Kids Foundation, Angel Blue, the recipient of our first ever Van Blazer award and the enduring legacy of AOP’s own Charles Jarden. Created in 2020 to honor a vanguard trailblazer changing the way opera is made and experienced, the Van Blazer award celebrates an iconoclastic artist who has fostered resiliency and inclusivity within their communities by the very way they have shaped their life and career. 

The evening will also include special appearances by legendary soprano Lauren Flanigan and superstar countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, as well as introductions to the many operas currently being created at AOP.

A contribution of $500 or higher grants access to a special VIP pre-show experience at 6pm, featuring a choreography session with acclaimed ballet dancer and Associate Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet Wendy Whelan, an interactive culinary class with chef Tyler Kord of No. 7 restaurants, a communal musical moment with soprano Adrienne Danrich, a song lyric writing workshop with librettist Mark Campbell, a world premiere by composer/performer Gilda Lyons, and more special guests, auction items, toasts and surprises.  

Join us for this exclusive portion of the evening, where we will announce AOP’s inaugural Artistic Advisory Council, led by Council Director and composer Laura Kaminsky, and raise glasses to our beautiful and resilient community.

For more information, or to reserve your ticket, visit www.aopopera.org/fermata2020.

ABOUT ANGEL BLUE

Angel Blue has emerged in recent seasons as one of the most important sopranos before the public today. On September 23, 2019 she opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019/2020 season as Bess in a new production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. These performances follow her internationally praised French Opera debut and role debut as Floria Tosca at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July of 2019. Earlier, Ms. Blue made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Violetta Valery in La Traviata, after which she returned to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in the same role. She has also been praised for performances in many other theaters, such as the Vienna State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Theater an der Wien, Oper Frankfurt, San Diego Opera and many others.

Alongside her musical activities, Angel Blue, who was raised in California and completed her musical studies at UCLA, is dedicated to the support of inner city youth. She is the founder of the non-profit organization Sylvia’s Kids Foundation, an organization that is dedicated to helping America’s teenagers continue their studies in either a trade school, community college, or four-year university once they have completed high school. The SKF scholarship award is given every year in the month of May. To learn more about Sylvia’s Kids Foundation visit www.sylviaskids.org

For Angel's full bio, visit: https://www.zemskygreenartists.com/artists/angel-blue/

ABOUT JORELL WILLIAMS

Jorell Williams is an American operatic baritone with a wide variety of experience from standard repertoire to premiere pieces. He begins the 2020-2021 season with world premieres of Hilliard and Boresi's The Happy Hour and Rachel Peters' Everything comes to a head with The Decameron Opera Coalition / Lyric Opera of the North featuring Bass-Baritone Luca Pisaroni, In Real Life II by Robert Paterson and David Cote in his debut with the American Modern Ensemble, Kamala Sankaram's Only you will recognize the signal with HERE Arts Center, his company and role debut of Don Giovanni with Opera Columbus, and the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel with The Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater.

A former resident artist of The American Opera Project's Composers and the Voice series from 2011-2014, Jorell is a much in demand interpreter of contemporary opera, and has created roles in several world premieres, notably: Hilliard and Boresi’s Blue Viola with Urban Arias; Matt Aucoin’s Crossing with the American Repertory Theater; John David Earnest’s The Theory of Everything with Encompass New Opera Theater; Anthony Davis’ Lear on the Second Floor at the University of San Diego; John Musto’s Bastianello with Rochester Lyric Opera; and workshops of Michael Torke’s Senna (2010), Nico Muhly’s Two Boys (2011), and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel (2018) with The Metropolitan Opera. Jorell is a recipient of the 2018 Rochester Classical Idol XII Top Prize and Audience Choice awards, and garners top awards from the Gerda Lissner International Competition, Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, The American Prize, Serge Koussevitzky Foundation, David Adams Art Song Competition, The American Traditions Competition, Civic Morning Musicals Foundation, Harlem Opera Theater, the National Association of Negro Musicians, and the Liberace Foundation.

For more information, visit: https://www.jorellwilliams.com/