Posted on Apr 8, 2023
'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera
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https://www.npr.org/2023/04/08/ [login to see] /champion-terence-blanchard
In a hangar-like wood-paneled room at the Metropolitan Opera House, more than 60 artists-- actors, dancers, musicians, directors and stagehands —are arriving for a rehearsal for Terence Blanchard's Champion. Last season, Blanchard made history when his Fire Shut Up in My Bones was the first opera by a Black composer staged by the Metropolitan Opera.
"Walking around this building, it's still like a dream," says Blanchard. "And then, this time it seems like things have ratcheted up to another level. Because the singers are amazing, and the production, as you see, is just awesome. And that's just half of the people."
Along with its huge cast, the production includes a full-sized boxing ring on the Met stage. Champion tells the story of Emile Griffith, a closeted gay boxer --in an era when gay people were outcasts --who rises from obscurity to become world champion and, in one of the great tragedies in sports history, kills his homophobic archrival in the ring.
In a hangar-like wood-paneled room at the Metropolitan Opera House, more than 60 artists-- actors, dancers, musicians, directors and stagehands —are arriving for a rehearsal for Terence Blanchard's Champion. Last season, Blanchard made history when his Fire Shut Up in My Bones was the first opera by a Black composer staged by the Metropolitan Opera.
"Walking around this building, it's still like a dream," says Blanchard. "And then, this time it seems like things have ratcheted up to another level. Because the singers are amazing, and the production, as you see, is just awesome. And that's just half of the people."
Along with its huge cast, the production includes a full-sized boxing ring on the Met stage. Champion tells the story of Emile Griffith, a closeted gay boxer --in an era when gay people were outcasts --who rises from obscurity to become world champion and, in one of the great tragedies in sports history, kills his homophobic archrival in the ring.
'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera
Posted from npr.org
Music
Theater
Boxing
LGBTQ+
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 4
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The story of Champion is told in flashbacks. As an older Emile Griffith --suffering from dementia—looks back at his career, he is filled with regret for the death he caused in the ring. Terence Blanchard says his opera is ultimately about redemption and forgiveness.
"What he said in his autobiography really blew me away. He said, 'I killed a man and the world forgave me, but yet I loved a man and the world wants to kill me.' And to me, everything I've written for this opera is centered around that moment. Because we have to get past all of this. It's time for us to grow up as a society."
..."The story of Champion is told in flashbacks. As an older Emile Griffith --suffering from dementia—looks back at his career, he is filled with regret for the death he caused in the ring. Terence Blanchard says his opera is ultimately about redemption and forgiveness.
"What he said in his autobiography really blew me away. He said, 'I killed a man and the world forgave me, but yet I loved a man and the world wants to kill me.' And to me, everything I've written for this opera is centered around that moment. Because we have to get past all of this. It's time for us to grow up as a society."
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Interesting story of boxing and LGBTQ...I posted about this from a different source before seeing this (d'oh!)
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
LTC Eugene Chu "Great Minds" Seem to Follow the Same Story plus it's nice to have Other Takes on Issues.
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