The Central Park Five (opera)

Last updated

The Central Park Five is a two-act American opera composed by Anthony Davis with libretto by Richard Wesley. [1] It premiered on June 15, 2019, at the Long Beach Opera Company in California. The premiere was directed by Andreas Mitisek and conducted by Leslie Dunner. [2] Davis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for the opera on May 4, 2020. [3] [4] An earlier, shorter version, titled Five, was premiered in Newark, New Jersey, in 2016 by the Trilogy Company. [5] A staged concert production has been announced by New York City Opera; the date has not been set. [6]

Contents

Summary

The opera is based on the 1989 incident in which a woman was raped and beaten and eight other people injured in New York's Central Park. [7] [8] Five African-American and Hispanic teenagers were convicted of rape, sodomy, assault, robbery, and riot. [9] They served years in prison but were ultimately exonerated. [10] The opera's large cast includes the five teenagers; five of their parents; Matias Reyes, the serial rapist ultimately proven to be the actual perpetrator; the prosecutor; a generic detective referred to as "The Masque"; and even Donald Trump, then a New York real estate developer, who published multiple full page newspaper ads demanding "Bring back the death penalty!" [11]

Roles

RoleVoice typePremiere cast, June 15, 2019
(conductor: Leslie Dunner) [2] [11]
Antron McCray bass-baritone Derrell Acon
Yusef Salaam bass-baritoneCedric Berry
Kevin Richardson tenor Bernard Holcomb
Korey Wise tenorNathan Granner
Raymond SantanatenorOrson Van Gay
Donald Trump tenorThomas Segen
District Attorneymezzo-sopranoJessica Mamey
The MasquebaritoneZeffin Quinn Hollis
Raymond's Father and Matias Reyesbass-baritoneBabatunde Akinboboye
Antron's FathertenorAshley Faatoalia
Antron's Mother and Kevin's mother soprano Joelle Lamarre
Yusef's Mother mezzo-soprano Lindsay Patterson

Reaction

Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said the premiere production offered "musical excellence, with a strong cast, an orchestra that could cook and viscerally stunning conducting from Leslie Dunner". He added that the acting provided "moments of intense drama" and the "supercharged" score created "tension, terror, dismay and, in the most revealing moments, tenderness and hope". [12]

Gordon Williams, writing for Opera Wire, called it "an incredibly effective presentation" of "a powerful work that shines a spotlight on an important event", describing it an ensemble piece with a powerful libretto and a strong cast. [2]

Accolades

The Pulitzer Prize committee cited the work as "a courageous operatic work, marked by powerful vocal writing and sensitive orchestration, that skillfully transforms a notorious example of contemporary injustice into something empathetic and hopeful". [13]

Composer Davis commented, "I'm excited, thrilled and honored that this work has been recognized this way," adding "it’s exciting for me that you can create political work that has an impact and speak to issues in our society. I’ve done my career creating political works, and I never thought I would ever get a Pulitzer." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Music</span> American award for musical works

The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted into a prize: "For a distinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American that has had its first performance in the United States during the year."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Park jogger case</span> 1989 crime in New York City

The Central Park jogger case was a criminal case concerning the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a woman who was running in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, on April 19, 1989. Crime in New York City was peaking in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged. On the night Meili was attacked, dozens of teenagers had entered the park, and there were reports of muggings and physical assaults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Wolfe</span> American composer (born 1958)

Julia Wolfe is an American composer and professor of music at New York University. According to The Wall Street Journal, Wolfe's music has "long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are recharged by the repetitive patterns of minimalism and the driving energy of rock". Her work Anthracite Fields, an oratorio for chorus and instruments, was awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Music. She has also received the Herb Alpert Award (2015) and was named a MacArthur Fellow (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Davis (composer)</span> American pianist and composer

Anthony Davis is an American pianist and composer. He incorporates several styles including jazz, rhythm 'n' blues, gospel, non-Western, African, European classical, Indonesian gamelan, and experimental music. He has played with several groups and is also a professor of music at the University of California, San Diego.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lang (composer)</span> American composer

David Lang is an American composer living in New York City. Co-founder of the musical collective Bang on a Can, he was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Little Match Girl Passion, which went on to win a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance by Paul Hillier and Theatre of Voices. Lang was nominated for an Academy Award for "Simple Song #3" from the film Youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Gelb</span> American arts administrator (born 1953)

Peter Gelb is an American arts administrator. Since August 2006, he has been General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Fairstein</span> American attorney and author (born 1947)

Linda Fairstein is an American author, attorney, and former New York City prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She was the head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Nottage</span> American playwright (born 1964)

Lynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for her play Ruined, and in 2017 for her play Sweat. She was the first woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Wesley</span> American playwright and screenwriter

Richard Wesley is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.

Long Beach Opera is a Southern California opera company serving the greater Los Angeles and Orange County metroplex. Founded in 1979, it is the oldest continually running opera company in the L.A. area. In June 2019 LBO presented the world premiere of The Central Park Five, an opera by Anthony Davis with libretto by Richard Wesley, about the Central Park jogger case. The opera won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in May 2020.

X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X is an opera with music by Anthony Davis and libretto by Thulani Davis, to a story by Christopher Davis. It is based on the life of the civil rights leader Malcolm X.

Trilogy: An Opera Company is a non-profit opera organization in Newark, New Jersey. Trilogy: AOC aims to produce high art evolving from the compositions and life stories of Black people. It embraces quality and diversity whilst supporting the community of black artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missy Mazzoli</span> American composer and pianist (born 1980)

Missy Mazzoli is an American composer and pianist who is a member of the composition faculty at the Mannes College of Music. In 2018, she became one of the first two women to receive a commission from the Metropolitan Opera House. She is the founder and keyboardist for Victoire, an electro-acoustic band. From 2012-2015 she was composer-in-residence at Opera Philadelphia, in collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theater Group. Her music is published by G. Schirmer. Mazzoli received a 2015 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award, a Fulbright Grant to the Netherlands, and in 2018 was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Classical Composition. In 2018, Mazzoli was named for a two-season term as the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mazzoli was named the Bragg Artist-in-Residence at Mount Allison University in Canada beginning in 2022.

<i>The Gospel According to the Other Mary</i>

The Gospel According to the Other Mary is an opera-oratorio by the American composer John Adams. The world premiere took place on May 31, 2012, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic who also premiered the staged version on March 7, 2013, at the same venue.

Andreas Mitisek was the Artistic and General Director of Long Beach Opera from 2003 to 2020 and the General Director of Chicago Opera Theater from 2012 to 2016. After his conducting debut with the company in Henry Purcell's The Indian Queen in 1998, Mitisek served as conductor, stage director and designer for many Long Beach Opera productions.

Yuval Sharon is an American opera and theater director from Naperville, Illinois, based in Los Angeles. He is the founder and co-artistic director of The Industry Opera. Since 2020, he has served as the Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director of Detroit Opera.

Cost of Living is a dramatic stage play written by Polish-born American playwright Martyna Majok. It premiered in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival on June 29, 2016, and had an Off-Broadway engagement in 2017. The play won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as two Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play.

Prism is a 2018 opera by Ellen Reid that explores the post-traumatic stress experience after sexual assault. Reid received the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her work on the opera.

Mark Campbell is a New York-based librettist and lyricist whose operas have received both a Pulitzer Prize in Music and a GRAMMY Award. Mark began writing for the stage as a musical theatre lyricist, but turned to libretto-writing after he premiered Volpone, his first full-length opera in 2004 at Wolf Trap Opera Company.

The Industry Opera is a Los Angeles-based opera company that creates experimental productions. Founded in 2010 by Artistic Director Yuval Sharon, The Industry has created site-specific projects across Los Angeles.

References

  1. ↑ Pulitzer Prize: Colson Whitehead wins again for 'The Nickel Boys' – USA Today
  2. 1 2 3 Williams, Gordon (June 30, 2019). "Long Beach Opera 2018–19 Review: The Central Park Five". Opera Wire. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ The Central Park Five, by Anthony Davis – The Pulitzer Prizes
  4. ↑ 'Central Park Five' composer Anthony Davis wins the Pulitzer Prize for Music – Yahoo News
  5. ↑ Cooper, Michael (May 30, 2019). "This Summer, Opera Grapples With Race". New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  6. ↑ "OPERA NEWS – New York City Opera Announces Plans to Present World Premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, Staged Concert of Anthony Davis's The Central Park Five Next Spring". www.metguild.org. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  7. ↑ Farber, M. A. (July 17, 1990). "'Smart, Driven' Woman Overcomes Reluctance". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331.
  8. ↑ "Youths Rape and Beat Central Park Jogger". The New York Times. April 21, 1989. ISSN   0362-4331.
  9. ↑ Cantwell, Alice; McNamara, Joseph; Mooshil, Maria (April 9, 2013). "2 guilty in jog case". Daily News . Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  10. ↑ "A Crime Revisited: The Decision; 13 Years Later, Official Reversal in Jogger Attack". The New York Times. December 6, 2002. ISSN   0362-4331.
  11. 1 2 3 Varga, George (May 5, 2020). "UCSD professor Anthony Davis wins Pulitzer Prize for fiery opera 'The Central Park Five'". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  12. ↑ Swed, Mark (June 17, 2019). "Review: Anthony Davis' opera 'The Central Park Five' goes where Netflix doesn't dare". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  13. ↑ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (May 4, 2020). "Anthony Davis Wins Pulitzer Prize For His Opera 'The Central Park Five'". NPR. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.