Behind the libretto: Blue

A Black family from Harlem torn apart by a tragic event: Blue is a revolutionary and contemporary opera about racism and police violence in the United States. The libretto is written by Tazewell Thompson, who also directs the opera with which he brings a very personal and political story to the opera stage.

Moderator Isabel Sheridan discusses the themes of the opera and the opera world itself with the cast of Blue and other guests. How accessible is the opera world itself for people of colour? To what extent is there space for a political message within opera? What parallels do we see between the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and in the Netherlands, and what are the effects of the global spread of Black Lives Matter on its original message? 

Live music from the opera will be provided by one of Blue’s lead singers, bass Kenneth Kellogg. 

About Blue

Opera has rarely been as topical as Blue. In Harlem, a Black couple anticipates the birth of its firstborn son, with both hope and anxiety. The mother worries about her son’s future as she watches him become a young man and enter the world of activism.

Meanwhile, the father tries to open his son’s eyes to the realities of 21st century America, whilst simultaneously struggling with his own identity as a police officer, a ‘Black man in blue’. When the parents’ deepest fears come true, they have to find a way to cope with reality.