Blue
By Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson
Reflective of an all-too familiar American headline, this new work commissioned by Glimmerglass by Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson centers on the hopes and fears of a young Black couple as they raise a son in Harlem. In this story of love and loss, we see the father, a police officer, and the mother supported by a loving community of fellow law enforcement, churchgoers and friends as they respond to the killing of their son.
This new co-production with Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago premiered at The Glimmerglass Festival in July 2019.
The development of Blue and its 2019 Glimmerglass Festival world premiere production was made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, OPERA America’s Opera Fund, New Music USA, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Amphion Foundation, and with major production support from Betsy and Ed Cohen, Eugene and Jean Stark, and Jacqueline B. Mar.
“Blue”… came across as powerful — as well as sadly timely.”
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
A wrenching and remarkably original opera that explores deeply personal emotional truths and gives them universal resonance.”
Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal
Resources
Below are resources to help you learn more about the opera Blue by Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson commissioned by The Glimmerglass Festival, which won the Music Critics Association of North America Award for Best New Opera.
Blue, In Memorium
With the support of The Glimmerglass Festival, the Blue casts of The Glimmerglass Festival and Washington National Opera joined for a musical offering and living memorial, led by mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter and bass Kenneth Kellogg, to honor the pain of the long list of victims of police violence, calling for a just, safer world for Black lives.
Production Photos
