2024 has been a year of phenomenal productions in Chicago, an embarrassment of riches from tiny storefronts to our major institutions, so when I go into my storehouse of superlatives it is tough to find new words to express how powerful and beautiful the current Lyric production of the Tesori and Thompson opera Blue is.
This opera considers a core Chicago experience, a tragedy that continues to mark each generation: the horror of senseless killings of young black men. From Emmett Till to Laquon McDonald, mothers, and fathers here and throughout our country have had to bury their murdered sons. In this fictionalized rendering, the Father is a cop and the child is killed by a fellow police officer, a brother in blue, when silently protesting. This gives the story rippling resonances: who does the Father serve, how can he protect when he cannot save his own son? Who are his brothers? When the opera begins, the newly married Mother (Lyric regular mezzo Zoie Reams) is circled by her lifelong friends who warn her that her black boy will not be treated well in this society. The Father will try to have The Talk with his Son.
Opera is uniquely able to convey this recurring tragedy- opera is a total art form, engaging mind and senses in a way that other arts cannot. Through out its history as an art form, opera has been effectively used to portray social issues of the time. Sonically the human voice hits a deep part of our brain, often moving us in a primal pre-verbal way. The visuals and movement connect to our minds and bodies so that we come to feel and understand the story in ways unique to experiencing this all encompassing art form. Donald Eastman’s simple set design with the projected facade of the Harlem apartment building centers us in the sense of urban community. Jeanine Tesori’s impressive score hits us and stays with us, ranging from a kind of song cycle modernity in the first act to the haunting melodic song of a mother’s loss in the second. The Father,( sung by bass Kenneth Kellogg in his astounding Lyric Opera debut) sings of a communal rage when his Reverend (baritone Norman Garrett) preaches forgiveness– his aria will rip you to the core, and have you asking questions you would rather not be thinking of: how long does it take for us to stop killing Black people simply because of the color of their skin? The Mother’s profound grief is devastating: her son is afraid of the dark and she asks God to give him stars in heaven so that he will not spend eternity in darkness. The Son, sung by Ryan Opera Center tenor Travon D. Walker, is the teenager: all energy and complexity, who challenges his parents' world the way every teen does, but dies because of it. His last words to his parents are “nothing will happen”. If you have ever raised a child to adulthood you know the worry, you know the exasperation of challenging a young person and trying to protect them from all they do not understand. You also know how much you can love someone who rejects you on the way to becoming themselves. But as Tonika Johnson’s photo exhibit in the Grand Foyer and Mezzanine demonstrates, in Chicago, if you are black or brown, being a young person is dangerous simply because of how society perceives you.
In the pre Opera talk (you always want to check those out if you head to the Lyric) before opening night, Lyric Unlimited Scholar in Residence Dr. Antonio C Cuyler asked us to Say Their Names, a communal ritual which prepared us and grounded us for what we were about to see, hear and feel. I am still feeling the weight of this experience, still thinking about the inexorable tragedy that can be growing up Black in America.
As a work of art, this opera is exquisitely made. As a story, Tazewell Thompson, who both wrote the libretto and directed, has created a streamlined tale that encompasses the specificity of this family as well as the universal themes of parenting a child you lose because of a society that is malformed. There are moments of delicious entertainment, such as when the Father’s buddies celebrate the birth of his son. There is so very much love in this opera: the Mother and Father’s love for each other, for their son. The son’s love of his parents. The love of their friends. But this piece will also challenge you to feel deeply the sorrow and loss and senselessness of losing so many, because of losing this one.
This must see opera Blue only has 4 more performances: November 20, 22, and 26 and December 1 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago. For tickets and lots of information go to https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/blue/
Photo by Kyle Flubacker
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