Opera Program At Hampton House Showcased Black Voices

Miami FL

04 March, 2021

8:25 AM

Description

Miami Times Staff Report, the Miami Times Mar 3, 2021 Courtesy of Florida Grand Opera, Saturday night at the Historic Hampton House featured "Opera … From a Sistah's Point of View," staring soprano singer Angela Brown. Performed nationally by Brown, the program attempts to help people of color find themselves in and enjoy opera while dispelling preconceived notions that there is no ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic diversity in opera characters. The Feb. 28 concerts were Brown's first performances before a live audience since the pandemic. It also was the first time "Sistah's" included the fresh talent of rising Black opera stars alongside Brown's own tongue-in-cheek commentary on opera plots from a Black perspective. "I've always wanted to use this platform to highlight rising Black stars ... I'm so proud and thankful to Miami and Florida Grand Opera for making my dream come true," said Brown. Performing alongside Brown from FGO's Young Talent conservatory program were soprano Amanda Sheriff, countertenor Key'mon Murrah, baritone Angel Refusé and pianist Jared Paroune. The program included seven traditional classical selections and six spirituals, closing with a group number of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hand." On March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Historic Hampton House, FGO will present "An Evening of Spirituals, Jazz, and Opera." General admission tickets are $10 at FGO.org. Mask-wearing is required. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.