Acclaimed soprano Angel Blue, fresh from starring roles in “Fire Shut Up in My Bones”and “Porgy and Bess” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, will present an intimate recital Sunday, April 24, as part of the Great Artists Series at Washington University in St. Louis.
Sponsored by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences, the Great Artists Series welcomes some of the brightest stars in contemporary classical music. Blue’s performance, accompanied by pianist Douglas Sumi, will feature works by Richard Strauss, Lee Hoiby and Sergei Rachmaninoff as well as traditional spirituals and more.
The recital will begin at 7 p.m. in WashU’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall. Single tickets are $37-40, or $32-35 for WashU faculty and staff, and $15 for students and children.
Tickets are available through the Edison Theatre Box Office, 314-935-6543, or at edison.wustl.edu.
Angel Blue
A “sumptuously voiced soprano” (New York Times), Blue made history last fall by performing the role of Destiny / Loneliness / Greta in “Fire Shut up in My Bones,” Terrance Blanchard’s adaptation of the memoir by New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow — and the first Metropolitan Opera production written by a Black composer.
Blue also starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019-20 revival of “Porgy and Bess,” which the Met reprised in fall 2021, and was the first African-American to receive the opera’s Beverly Sills Award. Other starring roles include her French Opera debut, in 2019, as Flora in “Tosca” and her 2018 debuts as Liu in “Turandot” at the San Diego Opera and as Marguerite in “Faust” at the Portland Opera.
Blue has performed in recital and in concert in more than 35 countries, and appeared with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. Read a full bio here.
Great Artists Series
Following Blue, the 2022 Great Artists Series will conclude May 1 with South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho.
The E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall is located in the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., at the intersection with Delmar Boulevard. For more information, visit music.wustl.edu.
