Posted March 23, 2021
DAYTON, OH (March 12, 2021) – On Sunday, March 28, 2021 at 3 p.m. in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center, Dayton Opera, under the leadership of Artistic Director Thomas Bankston, will present Angel Blue: Opera Star Recital.
Dayton Opera is thrilled to celebrate its 60th Anniversary with an Opera Star Recital featuring the sensational soprano, Angel Blue. This recital will also celebrate a special 25th anniversary of Artistic Director Thomas Bankston’s leadership of Dayton Opera. This concert is presented by The Jesse and Caryl Philips Foundation.
Acclaimed for the beauty of her voice and her stunning stage presence, Angel Blue is quickly rising to the top of her profession. This versatile soprano has been described as “the next Leontyne Price,” and critics speak enthusiastically of her shining, agile upper register and “smoky” middle register.
An opera star in high demand worldwide, Angel Blue has performed in over 35 countries in the last six years, including appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Israeli Philharmonic, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna Stadtsoper, Dresden Semperoper, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and San Francisco Opera. Ms. Blue made her Royal Albert Hall debut as a featured guest at the “Classic FM Live” concert in April 2015. She is a regular host/presenter for the BBC Proms and appears frequently on BBC television. Last season, she performed the lead role of Bess in the critically acclaimed and Grammy Award-winning production of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess at The Metropolitan Opera.
In addition to her opera roles, Angel Blue has performed everything from jazz to Strauss’s Four Last Songs, Mahler’s Symphony No 2, and Verdi’s Requiem, as well as concerts with Alfie Boe, Andrea Bocelli, and Grammy Award–winning “Hit-man” David Foster. The soprano is adept at “crossover” and has won acclaim for her Zarzuela. Her recent opera schedule includes both Mimi and Musetta at the Metropolitan Opera and an upcoming Violetta at the Royal Opera House, London.
Angel Blue travels the world in high demand, and Dayton has the great fortune of hearing her in the sonic splendor of our own Schuster Center this month. In fact, this concert marks Angel Blue’s return to the stage in front of a live audience, the first such appearance since the start of the pandemic last March. Her recital will showcase wide-ranging repertoire from composers of opera and song literature, including European composers Strauss, Marx, and Puccini, and American composer Hoiby, as well as African American spirituals arranged by composers including Margaret Bonds, H.T. Burleigh, Hall Johnson, and Florence Price.
Collaborating with Ms. Blue will be pianist Catherine Miller. Ms. Miller is a member of the music staff at San Diego Opera, the Musical Director for the Mentoris Vocal Competition, and an active recitalist with classical singers. Recent appearances with soprano Angel Blue have included recitals at the Ravinia Music Festival and for the Vocal Arts DC recital series at the Kennedy Center. Additionally, she has worked with Opera Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, and for the Spoleto Festival in Italy.
This Opera Star Recital promises to be a very special occasion at the Schuster Center to celebrate 60 years of Dayton Opera and 25 years with Artistic Director Thomas Bankston at the helm. Dayton Opera is thrilled to welcome to the stage Angel Blue for this truly memorable occasion!
To accommodate a variety of viewing needs of its patrons, the DPAA offers three options to enjoy this opera:
- In-Theater Performance – The DPO will offer a live in-theatre performance of this opera, with no intermission, for those who cannot wait to be back in the Schuster Center to experience Dayton Opera in person. This performance will be held Sunday, March 28, 2021 at 3:00pm in the Mead Theater of the Schuster Center. In compliance with Public Health–Dayton and Montgomery County, limited seating will be available in the Schuster Center, patrons will be seated in a socially-distance configuration, and strict safety guidelines will be followed in order to ensure the safety of all patrons in attendance. In-theater tickets are $50 per performance.
- Live Stream Performance – For those patrons who are not yet ready to attend an in-theater performance, this opera can be viewed in a live-stream format from the comfort of home in real time as Dayton Opera performs from the stage. The Live Stream Performance will be streamed at 3:00pm on Sunday, March 28, 2021, and the live stream ticket also provides access to on-demand viewing of the performance until June 30, 2021. Live stream access is $25.
- Virtual Stream Membership – Patrons can become a DPAA Virtual Streams member which, depending on the membership level, provides access to all DPAA Reimagined Season live and recorded performances, as well as past 2020 Autumn and Holiday Streams, Artist Q&As, Behind-The-Scenes Videos and Bonus Performances. The Premium membership level ($500) provides access to all DPAA Live Streams. The Basic ($100) and Plus ($250) membership levels provide access to all performances five days after the Live Stream premieres. All performances are available for on-demand viewing until June 30, 2021.
Tickets for In-Theater and Live Stream performances of Angel Blue: Opera Star Recital are available at Ticket Center Stage (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org. DPAA Virtual Streams Memberships can be obtained by visiting https://daytonperformingarts.org/streams/. Information and ticketing for this program, or any of the DPAA 2020–2021 Reimagined Season programs, can be found by visiting www.daytonperformingarts.org.
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About the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) was formed in July 2012 as the result of a groundbreaking and innovative merger between the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the greater Dayton community, with a mission to be the community’s indispensable source for traditional, diverse and innovative experiences in ballet, opera, and orchestral music. The vision of the DPAA is to transform lives through the power of music and dance. The DPAA offers a wide variety of performance and education programs, setting a new standard for artistic excellence. DPAA performances reach an audience of more than 90,000 people annually, and their rich arts education programming serves over 60,000 schoolchildren in 150 schools in the Miami Valley. These performances and education initiatives are made possible in part through major support provided by the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and the National Endowment for the Arts.