CHICAGO (10/21/24) — A startling and moving portrait of a family and community coming together in crisis and in faith, Blue comes to Lyric Opera of Chicago from November 16 to December 1, 2024. Composer Jeanine Tesori’s stirring, heartfelt music, brought to life by conductor Joseph Young in his Lyric debut, perfectly accentuates librettist and director Tazewell Thompson’s contemporary narrative. Blue was originally set to be produced during Lyric’s 2019/20 Season but was postponed by the pandemic; Lyric now presents Blue as a fully fledged modern classic, with the work’s enduring timeliness intact.
Unconditional kinship. Blue follows a Black family’s progress in contemporary society as wife and husband become Mother and Father. The parents have complex and vulnerable conversations with their friends about bringing their Son into the world, as the Father is torn between his new exploration of fatherhood and his professional duties as a police officer. Blue unflinchingly examines the growth and development of a modern family, with faith as the grounding force that ties their surrounding community together even as it is torn apart by police violence.
A tremendously talented authorial team. Composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist and director Tazewell Thompson, both in their Lyric debuts, have earned tremendous acclaim for their collaboration on Blue, which had its world premiere at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2019 and was subsequently named the Best New Opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America. Since its world premiere, Blue has quickly become part of the modern operatic canon, with major productions in Washington, D.C., Seattle, Minnesota, Detroit, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Toledo, as well as at London’s English National Opera and Amsterdam’s Dutch National Opera.
Theater and opera composer Jeanine Tesori is the Tony Award-winning creator of six Broadway musicals, including two Tony winners for Best Musical: Fun Home and Kimberly Akimbo; she also won great acclaim for the groundbreaking musical Caroline, or Change, written with Tony Kushner. Her latest opera, Grounded, written with George Brant, was chosen to open the Metropolitan Opera’s 2024/25 Season. Tazewell Thompson is a renowned playwright, librettist, and director; in addition to Blue, his work in opera includes acclaimed productions of Philip Glass’s Appomattox and Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars. His latest project, the opera Jubilee, for which he served as creator and director, recently opened to rave reviews at Seattle Opera. Thompson’s masterful libretto for Blue has been hailed as “one of the most elegant librettos I’ve heard in a long time” (The New York Times).
Experienced musical leadership. Conductor Joseph Young makes his Lyric debut leading the Lyric Opera Orchestra through Tesori’s sweeping score, which he first explored with this production’s run at Washington National Opera in the 2022/23 Season. Young is the Artistic Director of Ensembles at the renowned Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, the Resident Conductor for the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and is in his sixth season as Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony.
Leading roles sung with passion and pain. In the central role of the Father, Kenneth Kellogg makes his Lyric debut in a role written expressly for him; he has starred in nearly every major production of the opera around the world, including its world premiere. Kellogg also serves as Artistic Ambassador at Seattle Opera, where in addition to Blue he recently appeared in the title role of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. Chicago native and Lyric favorite Zoie Reams stars as the Mother for her second role in Lyric’s 2024/25 Season, following her acclaimed turn as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto. She has also recently appeared at Lyric as Ragonde in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory and Sybil and Chief’s Daughter #2 in Proximity. Ryan Opera Center Ensemble member Travon D. Walker portrays the Son for his third Lyric role of the season, following his portrayals of Borsa in Rigoletto and the 1st Prisoner in Beethoven’s Fidelio. The Reverend, the central leader of the community, will be sung by Norman Garrett, a veteran of contemporary productions at Lyric, with performances as Foreman and Adult James in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Garby in Will Liverman and DJ King Rico’s The Factotum, and Bilal in Proximity.
A magnetic supporting cast. The charismatic trio of the Mother’s friends is led by Ariana Wehr, who makes her Lyric debut as Girlfriend 1 and the Nurse. Alongside Kellogg, Wehr starred in Blue’s world-premiere cast. Adia Evans, a first-year Ryan Opera Center Ensemble member who made her Lyric debut as Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto earlier this season, is Girlfriend 2, and Krysty Swann returns to Lyric as Girlfriend 3 following her recent appearance as Cousin Blanche in Terence Blanchard’s Champion. Terrence Chin-Loy returns as Policeman 1 following his recent appearance in Lyric’s world premiere of The Factotum. Jonathan Pierce Rhodes makes his Lyric debut as Policeman 2, and Ryan Opera Center Ensemble member Christopher Humbert, Jr. is Policeman 3, his third role of the season following performances as Ceprano in Rigoletto and 2nd Prisoner in Fidelio.
Design that drives the story. Spotlighting these artists with arresting conceptual visuals is set designer Donald Eastman in his Lyric debut. Eastman is a longtime creative partner of director Tazewell Thompson; their first collaboration was a production of August Wilson’s Fences in 1990. Costume designer Jessica Jahn and lighting designer Robert Wierzel each make their second appearances in Lyric’s 2024/25 Season, following their work on Fidelio and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, respectively.
Lyric Unlimited presents a series of thought-provoking and community-oriented programs, at Lyric and beyond. Lyric Unlimited’s Artist-in-Residence Karen Slack presents Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice on Tuesday, November 12 in Lyric's Grand Foyer. Slack is joined by pianist Kamilla Arku and visual designer Angela L. Owens. On Friday, November 15, The RESET, a transformative sound healing experience, will be led by renowned singer and sound healing artist Davin Youngs. On the opening night of Blue, Saturday, November 16, social justice artist, photographer, and activist Tonika Johnson will lead a VIP exploration of her photography exhibition, Thoughts on Parenthood, on display at Lyric throughout the run of the production. Prior to each Blue performance, Lyric Unlimited Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Antonio C. Cuyler will host special guests for Shades of Blue, a series of pre-opera talks in the Ardis Krainik Theatre. On Monday, November 18, Lyric will present Opera Insights, a two-part panel that investigates Blue’s complex themes of police misconduct, accountability, and justice, at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. On Wednesday, November 23, Lyric hosts Gen Z in Action: Art, Activism, Advocacy and Advancement, a discussion at Kennedy-King College. Before the matinee performance on Sunday, December 1, the Black music collective and string chamber ensemble D-Composed will assemble for a performance in Lyric’s Grand Foyer. For more information on these events, visit lyricopera.org/blue.
Find comfort in the power of community. Tesori and Thompson’s Blue gives voice to a tight-knit group of family members, friends, and community leaders rarely seen on an opera stage. With gripping music, a powerful and poetic story, and a masterful group of artists, the opera is an intimate look into faith, family, friendship, and solidarity in times of grief and healing.
Important to know:
- Five chances to see Blue: November 16, 20, 22, and 26; and a matinee on December 1.
- Sung in English, with projected English titles above the stage.
- A total running time of 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission.
- Blue delves into challenging themes related to racial injustices and includes an off-stage death resulting from police violence. It also includes profanity, the use of racial slurs, and other hate speech. Recommended for mature audiences.
- Ticketholders are invited to Shades of Blue, free pre-opera talks by Lyric Unlimited Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Antonio C. Cuyler and special guests on Blue’s composition history and social context; the talks begin one hour before each performance on the main floor of the theater. The Shades of Blue discussion on December 1 will be hosted by WFMT program host LaRob K. Rafael and features Chicago Police Department Lieutenant Jermaine Harris.
- The performance on Wednesday, November 20 will be interpreted in American Sign Language, and SoundShirts will also be available. Audio description and a guided touch tour of the set are available at the Sunday, December 1 matinee performance. Braille and large-print programs, high-powered opera glasses, assistive listening devices, and booster seats are available from the main floor coat check at all performances. For more information on these and other accessibility assets, visit lyricopera.org/accessibility.
- Scenery and costumes for this production of Blue are co-produced by Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Glimmerglass Festival, and Washington National Opera.
- For more information and tickets, visit lyricopera.org/blue or call 312.827.5600.
