(Photo: Michael Brosilow) Fresh from a Metropolitan Opera premiere last spring (and its subsequent Grammy Award victory), Terence Blanchard’s first opera in jazz, “Champion,” enjoyed its Lyric Opera of Chicago premiere in James Robinson’s vivid and effective staging, a co-production on January 27th, 2024. A dazzling cast led by Justin Austin as Emile Griffith made a powerful case for repeated {…}
The Metropolitan Opera is set to present a Live in HD transmission of Terence Blanchard’s “Champion” on April 29, 2023. The opera stars Eric Owens, Ryan Speedo Green, Latonia Moore, Stephanie Blythe, Paul Groves, and Eric Greene. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts. Lawrence Brownlee hosts the performance, which kicks off at 12:55 p.m. local time. Of the opening night performance, OperaWire raved {…}
Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s “Champion” made its Met Opera premiere on April 10, 2023 to a nearly sold-out crowd. Just entering the main lobby, you were met with a 10-minute line to pick up tickets. But most importantly, you could feel the buzz in the space, a massive, diverse audience, ready to take in what is undeniably a major {…}
(Credit: Zenith Richards / Met Opera) Terence Blanchard’s “Champion,” based on the true story of the troubled former middleweight boxing champion Emile Griffith, will make its highly anticipated Metropolitan Opera premiere. The opera, which opens on April 10, will be performed nine times through May 13. The work, with a libretto by Michael Cristofer, will be conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin {…}
Works & Process at the Guggenheim is set to present “Champion,” an opera by Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer on March 20, 2023. The event will feature performances by members of the cast and a moderated discussion about the work’s forthcoming company premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. Met General Manager Peter Gelb will moderate a discussion with the creative team, {…}
This March, Lincoln Center is set to do its first cross-campus exploration of an artist. Entitled “See Me As I Am: Lincoln Center’s Year-Long Celebration of Terence Blanchard,” the event will see seven organizations, including Film at Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and The New York Public Library {…}
Works & Process has announced its 2023 season of programming, with performances at the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, and the New York Library for the Performing Arts. Among the performances are “The Factotum,” presented by Lyric Opera of Chicago and featuring Grammy-nominated baritone Will Liverman. Inspired by “The Barber of Seville” and set in a Black barbershop in Chicago, highlights {…}
Ever since Terrence Blanchard’s opera “Champion” received its premiere in 2013, the opera has traveled to Washington D.C and San Francisco. It is also set to make its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2022-23 season. But before that, the Boston Lyric Opera will bring the work to its audiences after having been postponed in 2020. Leading the cast {…}
The Boston Lyric Opera has canceled a performance of “Champion” due to COVID-19. The company announced that “due to a series of COVID cases, Boston Lyric Opera will cancel the Wed., May 18 performance of ‘Champion: An Opera in Jazz. The company plans to mount the Fri., May 20 @ 7:30 PM performance and the 3 PM performance on Sun., {…}
Boston Lyric Opera’s is set to present a new production of “Champion: An Opera in Jazz” by Terence Blanchard and libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cristofer. The contemporary opera will be directed by theater director Timothy Douglas and conducted by Kwamé Ryan. “The story of Champion is one of a desire to find a sense of belonging,” says Acting Stanford {…}
The Boston Lyric Opera has announced a casting update for its upcoming production of “Champion.” The company noted that American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe will join the cast while theater director Timothy Douglas will helm the work. Blythe will make her role debut as the welcoming and supportive bar owner Kathy Hagen in “Champion.” She is renowned opera singer and recitalist {…}