Blue, a new opera by composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist-director Tazewell Thompson, will make its anticipated New York City premiere this year as part of Mostly Mozart Festival鈥檚 summer season.
The opera, exploring race and violence through the lens of an African-American couple raising their son, will run July 25鈥�27 in the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Carolyn Kuan will conduct the Orchestra of St. Luke鈥檚 and a company that includes Kenneth Kellogg, Briana Hunter, and Aaron Crouch鈥攁ll three of whom sang in the piece鈥檚 world premiere at the Glimmerglass Festival last year.
The series will launch July 14 and 15 at David Geffen Hall with the world premiere of Divine Connection, a choreographic presentation featuring music from Mozart鈥檚 Requiem and pieces by Arvo P盲rt. The Lincoln Center commission is directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, choreographed by Chanel DaSilva, and conducted by Mostly Mozart Music Director Louis Langr茅e, and will feature the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and soloists Daniela Mack, Matthew Swensen, and Ryan Speedo Green.
Despite the festival鈥檚 moniker, a host of events will center around Beethoven as a worldwide celebration of the composer鈥檚 250th birthday continues. Offerings include Beethoven鈥檚 Triple Concerto with Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, and Jeremy Denk; an all-Beethoven program from the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; and the piano concerto 鈥淓mperor鈥� performed by Stephen Hough. The festival will conclude August 8 with A Beethoven Odyssey, a recreation of the composer鈥檚 1808 Akademie Concert. The program will feature the Concert Chorale of New York, the Young People鈥檚 Chorus of New York City, pianist Kirill Gerstein, soprano Susanna Phillips, and more.
The three-and-a-half week festival also includes the U.S. premiere of the Iv谩n Fischer and Marco Gandini staging of Verdi鈥檚 Falstaff, the North American premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir鈥檚 chamber opera UR_, and a concert focusing on works by Tesori鈥攕oon to be represented on Broadway with the revival of her Caroline, or Change鈥攆eaturing Lucia Bradford and Miles Mykkanen.
For more information and complete lineup, visit .
