Toledo, OH—Toledo Opera will host its virtual Tuesday on Tuesday, August 16 at 6:00 p.m. This panel offers a fresh perspective on Blue, and explores thematic connections to contemporary life in Toledo. This event will also include a screening of the documentary film Blue: Stories from Toledo, Toledo Opera and Madhouse Creative collaborated on a 20-minute documentary film featuring interviews with Toledoans and opera experts. This event is presented with support from Ohio Humanities.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Naomi André, David G. Frey Distinguished Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Panelists include: Tazewell Thompson – NAACP Theatre Award-winning librettist and director of Blue; Maestro Chelsea Tipton, II – conductor of Blue; Kathy Tucker – Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for PNC Banks’s Toledo Market; and Crystal Harris – Toledo activist and storyteller in the documentary film Blue: Stories from Toledo.
Alyssa Greenberg, Director of Community Engagement, shared “Blue will land differently in Toledo than it did in previous productions (in other cities including Detroit, Seattle, and Pittsburgh) because of our unique Toledo stories. We created a documentary film called Blue: Stories from Toledo in which Tazewell Thompson and Dr. Naomi André introduce the opera Blue to Toledo audiences and local advocate Crystal Harris shares her heartbreaking personal story. In this Tuesday Talk, Toledo Opera will convene these storytellers alongside former Toledo resident Maestro Chelsea Tipton, II and community leader Kathy Tucker to explore further how the characters in Blue – including the Mother, the Father, the Son, and the Reverend – connect with our Toledo stories.”
More about Tuesday Talks: Tuesday Talks take place on the two Tuesdays prior to each Toledo Opera production. It is a series of free public panel presentations convening scholars, artists, and Toledo community members to discuss the contemporary relevance of key themes of each opera production.
More about Blue: An African American couple in Harlem anticipates the birth of their firstborn, a son, with both hope and fear. As the baby grows into a young man, the mother worries for his future, and the father tries to prepare his son for the realities of 21st century America, while wrestling with his own identity as a police officer, a "Black man in blue." When their deepest fears come true, the family is forced to navigate a devastating reality seeking answers and support from their church and community. Toledo Opera presents the Tony Award®–winning composer Jeanine Tesori and NAACP Theatre Award–winning librettist Tazewell Thompson’s new opera inspired by contemporary events and Black literature. Influenced by gospel music and using vivid flashbacks, Blue places timely issues at the forefront of modern opera and invites audiences to the emotional epicenter of their impact. Chelsea Tipton, II returns to Toledo to conduct the opera and librettist Tazewell Thompson serves as the stage director.
This event is free and open to the public and can be accessed via Toledo Opera’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. For public registration to the event, please RSVP to Luke Serrano at lserrano@toledoopera.org. For media access, please contact Rachael Cammarn at rcammarn@toledoopera.org.
Blue is made possible by Owens Corning, The National Endowment for the Arts, and Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information about Blue, please visit www.toledoopera.org/upcoming-performances/season-event/blue/. For more information on Toledo Opera, visit https://toledoopera.org.
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