Fathom Events and The Metropolitan Opera will present a live transmission of Terence Blanchard’s jazz-inflected opera Champion on Saturday, April 29th as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Champion was the first opera by the seven-time Grammy Award–winning composer and depicts the double-life of closeted boxer Emile Griffith, from his arrival in New York City from the U.S. Virgin Islands to his rise from a hat maker to world-champion prizefighter.
Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green portrays the Young Emile Griffith, and bass-baritone Eric Owens plays Griffith’s tormented older self. Director James Robinson, whose productions of Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones and the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess at the Met scored major successes—directs Champion, as he did when the work had its world premiere in St. Louis a decade ago. Camille A. Brown, who electrified audiences with her choreography in Porgy and Fire, also returns. Gary Halvorson will direct the Live in HD presentation for cinemas, with host tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who will share exclusive behind-the-scenes access during the intermission.
Fathom Events will also present encores of Champion on Wednesday, May 3rd. Tickets for Champion are on sale through the Fathom Events website and participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit fathomevents.com
Share this post