“I Got Plenty O’Nuttin’,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”
Over the years, those who have been in the cast in various roles read like a who’s who of prominent African-Americans in the arts, including Cab Calloway, Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge and Sammy Davis Jr. Today, popular opera singer Angela Brown takes the role of Bess.
Brown, from Indianapolis, claimed she always wanted to be a performer and always wanted to sing.
“I knew I wanted to be in the arts. I just didn’t realize my break would come in opera. All that came along later in my life. I began loving musical theater and singing gospel. In fact, I started singing in my grandmother’s church when I was five. But l had a good time doing it all,” she said.
Finally deciding her voice and future would be better served with the proper training, Brown enrolled at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., finding out at the last minute that in order to receive her degree she would have to study the classics.
“I didn’t realize that was what we were going to have to do. I went to school wanting to be a gospel singer, a singing Evangelist, not sing opera,” Brown said.
But, thanks to her teacher, Ginger Beazley, it obviously all worked out for the best. Once a year, Beazley used to take her students over to Indiana University to study with Virginia Zeani who, upon hearing Brown sing, declared she would be the next greatest Verdi soprano.
“I didn’t even know who Verdi was,” Brown said, “but I was willing to study hard. And after I graduated from the School of Music at Indiana University and started doing the competitions, my career began to take shape. And when I found out people were willing to pay to hear me sing, well, that was really a thrill.”
Over the years, Brown has appeared all over the world and continues to live up to her overwhelming critical acclaim. She has won many awards, including the Sullivan Foundation Grant Winner; the G.B. Viotti Verdi Vocal Competition winner, Italy; the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner; winner of the Opera Carolina Competition and more.
“I like to say that my favorite role is whatever role I’m working on,” she said. “I have become known for my ‘Aida,’ and although I’ve done ‘Porgy and Bess’ before, I’ve always done the role of Serena. Now I’m doing Bess and this is the first time I’m able to put my fingerprint on Bess and make it my own. I’m having fun flushing her out and making her a real person. This is no easy role and it’s the most physical role I’ve ever done in my life. But I’m have a lot of fun with it.”
And after all these years, Brown believes the role and the whole show continues to capture so many hearts because of the music.
“You can leave the theater humming the music. It stays with you or a long, long time. It’s become part of the American quilt,” she said.
For times and ticket information, call (215) 732-8400 or log in at operaphilly.com. |
