Composer: Jeanine Tesori
Performer: Joshua Blue, Ariana Wehr, Rehanna Thelwell, Katerina Burton, Briana Hunter, Kenneth Kellogg, Aaron Crouch, Gordon Hawkins, Christian Simmons, Martin Luther Clark
Orchestra: Washington National Opera Orchestra
Conductor: Roderick Cox
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Pentatone
Catalogue: PTC5186967
Release: 2022
Size: 4.04 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Blue
CD 01
01. Prologue
Act I Scene 1
02. Urgent! Drop Ev’rything!
03. I Was in the Heyday of Being in Love
04. Damn, Girl!
05. You Married a Cop?
06. I Love Him
07. What About Your Obsession?
08. I’m Gonna Strap My Baby on My Back
09. You Havin’ a What?
10. Forgive Our Sistah. She Knows Not What She Do
11. Birth That Baby Boy to Term
12. Ha! Ha, Ha, Ha!
13. I’m Having This Boy. I’m Keeping This Boy Close
14. We Wish On Ev’rything You Can Wish On
15. Scrape the Wax Off Your Wings
16. Transition to Scene 2
Act I Scene 2
17. How You Doin’, Baby?
18. I’m Somebody’s Mother
19. Hello…Mom!
20. Cup Your Hand Under His Head and Neck
21. Hello…Hello, My Son
Act I Scene 3
22. Go, Go, Go!
23. Halftime! We’re All Yours, Buddy
24. How Do You Feel?
25. Welcome to the Daddy Club!
26. How Did You Produce a Son?
27. I’ve Got a Baby Boy
28. Here’s a Toast
Act I Scene 4
29. Introduction
30. You Not Getting Off That Easy
31. Yes, Sir! Got My Own Private Warden
32. Moved Up Here So You Could Spread Out and Be by Yourself
33. No! New York Is the Richest City in the World
34. Stat Stat Statue of Liberty
35. The World Done Change
36. What Am I Supposed to Do? Stay Alive
37. You Alive, Ain’t You?
38. I Am Out There in the Jungle
39. Whatcha Gonna Do?
40. Let Me Go. No, My Son, I Will Never Let You Go
CD 02
Act II Scene 1
01. What Is Your Name, My Son?
02. Ah! You Are the Father Whose Child Was Lost
03. Ah! Your Heart Is Broken, I Hear It Knocking Against Your Ribs
04. This Is My Badge
05. When My Boy Was Taken from Me
06. I Did Not Come Here Seeking Redemption
07. Only a White God
08. You Are Walking in a Terrible Darkness, My Son
09. May Restoring Waters Clear the Night’s Weeping
10. In My Hour of Need I Seek No Salvation from You
Act II Scene 2
11. Come Away from the Window
12. She Sits in This Matchbox Disguised as a House
13. She Was Lying in Her Bed. In Her Own Home. In Her Bed
14. Look at Her. She Wears the Captive Shroud of Stony Death
15. Let Us Go Forth
16. Oh God! Bring My Baby Back
17. God, Give Me Back Any Part of My Baby
Act II Scene 3
18. My Heart…My Heart Is Heavy Tonight
19. Somebody, Oh Somebody
20. A Mother, Clear Out of Her Mind
21. God, We Ask You, Take Care of This Boy
22. Stay Alive
23. Son, the Light Is Turning Amber. Run!
24. We Sing…Christ Wore the Crown of Thorns
25. Cup Your Hand Under His Head and Neck
Epilogue
26. Introduction
27. I Don’t Know What the Hell You Talkin’ About
28. Set Aside Your Sides, Eat Some Set-Asides I Set Aside for My Boys
29. You My Son. I Got Deep Fried, Red-Eyed, Drip-Dried
30. Kneaded, Pinched, and Prodded
31. Heavenly Father, We Humbly Thank You
32. Hey Mom, Hey Dad
Topical and heartwrenching opera on racial injustice.
Washington National Opera presents Blue, a contemporary opera on racial injustice in the United States today, with a libretto by Tazewell Thompson set to music by Jeanine Tesori. Blue tells the tragic story of an African-American police officer whose son is killed by a fellow officer during a protest. Strongly resonating with the Black Lives Matter movement, the piece is equally groundbreaking thanks to its intimate and layered portrayal of African-American family life on the operatic stage.
Historically and musically, Blue compassionately tells a story that is at once painful and identifiable to so many of us. The Music Critics Association of America named Blue the “best new opera” of 2020, while the Financial Times praised it as “an exceptionally strong new opera about race in America”, and hailed Tesori’s music as “eclectic, but assuredly so, full of beauty and eloquence”. The piece is sung by an excellent cast of vocalists, including Kenneth Kellogg as The Father, Briana Hunter as The Mother, and Aaron Crouch as The Son, while The Washington National Opera Orchestra is led by rising star conductor Roderick Cox.
Jeanine Tesori is one of the most important American composers of today, with a diverse catalog for musical theatre, opera, film, and television. Tazewell Thompson is an internationally acclaimed director, playwright, teacher, and actor. Washington National Opera is among the leading US opera houses, and has the mission to present stories that reflect the America of today.