Opera "Highway 1, USA" by William Grant Still

Let’s celebrate together the return of full-scale opera at The Cleveland Opera in collaboration with Cleveland Women’s Orchestra! Please don’t miss:

Highway 1, USA

by William Grant Still

Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 3:00 pm

The Tudor Arms Hotel Grand Ballroom

10660 Carnegie Avenue

Cleveland OH 44106

Free valet parking sponsored by The Cleveland Opera.

Free chocolates and candy sponsored by The Cleveland Opera.

Wine and beverages for cash purchase from Tudor Arms.

Tickets:

$55 Reserved Sponsor Seating

$25 General Admission

$10 Student

at theclevelandopera.org/highway1 or call  216 816 1411 or email tickets@theclevelandopera.org Tickets are available online HERE or by calling 216 816 1411.

Tickets will also be available at the door, cash or check.

About

The seventeen-year-long collaboration of The Cleveland Opera and Cleveland Women’s Orchestra will once again blossom in the astounding new full production of the opera Highway 1, USA by William Grant Still, led by:

Maestro Eric Benjamin conductor, Music Director of Cleveland Women’s Orchestra

Dorota Sobieska stage director, Executive Artistic Director of The Cleveland Opera

Soloists:

Brian Keith Johnson, baritone, Bob

Lauren Harris, soprano, Mary

Governor Harris, tenor, Nate

Angeleina Valentine-Grant, mezzo-soprano, Aunt Lou

Jonathan Stuckey, bass, Sheriff

Frederick Taylor, tenor, choral leadership

Chorus

The production celebrates the composer William Grant Still, hailed as “the Dean of African-American Composers,” whose talent and brilliant contribution to the classical music landscape deserves a special place. The New York Times calls Still’s opera a “stunner,” while adding “Though stylish, the music is unabashedly approachable. If played more widely, Still’s aesthetic might attract modern-opera skeptics who have rejected works from the modernist or Minimalist camps that dominate the 20th-century repertoire currently performed in America.”

The Cleveland Opera and Cleveland Women’s Orchestra are presenting this fabulous piece right before its California premiere at Los Angeles Opera, which is offering 6 performances of it in early March, 2024.

Still’s gorgeously orchestrated music tells us the story of the hardworking Black couple Bob and Mary fulfilling the deathbed wish of Bob’s mother to educate his talented brother Nate for a better future. Their years of sacrifice turn out to be a huge mistake. Nate squanders every opportunity granted to him.

The first half of the program will include music by George Gershwin, Julia Perry, and Aaron Copland.

The splendid Crystal Ballroom at Tudor Arms is waiting for YOU and for the curtain to rise!

https://theclevelandopera.org/highway-1

www.theclevelandopera.org

tickets@theclevelandopera.org