Baritone Gordon Hawkins is set to sing the role of The Reverend in Washington National Opera’s upcoming co-commissioned production of Tazewell Thompson and Jeanine Tesori’s “Blue.”

The company announced that Hawkins will replace Lester Lynch, who has withdrawn for personal reasons.

Hawkins is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the George London Grant recipient. He has performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro de la Maestranza, Washington National Opera New Orleans Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

His repertoire includes music by Verdi, Gershwin, Wagner, Leoncavallo, Beethoven, and Weber, among others.

Hawkins joins a cast that includes Kenneth Kellogg, Briana Hunter, and Aaron Crouch. John DeMain conducts the production which opens on March 15 and runs through March 28, 2020.