‘Blue’ Brings Relatable Topic to Lyric Opera Stage

Adia Evans is a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO.
Adia Evans is a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO.

‘Blue’ Brings Relatable Topic to Lyric Opera Stage

By Tia Carol Jones

Adia Evans began singing opera as a teenager. She always loved to sing, for anyone who would listen. With artists as parents, she was encouraged to sing. She attended Baltimore School of the Arts, the same school her parents attended. There, she was introduced to opera by her teacher Robert Cantrell. She really fell in love with opera and has fond memories of seeing Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” for the first time.

“I just felt goosebumps all up and down my spine during the second act and I was like, ‘I have to be a part of that.’ It was so visual and the music was so beautiful and I just wanted to be part of that kind of artwork,” Evans said.

Evans will perform in the Lyric Opera’s production of “Blue,” which tells the story of a Black police officer and his wife dealing with the death of their son at the hands of a white police officer. “Blue” will run from Nov. 16th to Dec. 1st at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This will be the Chicago premiere of the opera, which was named Best New Opera of 2019 by the Music Critics Association of North America.

This is Evans’ first year as a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. She auditioned more than a year ago on the Lyric Opera stage. For the last six months, Evans and the other members have been coaching, preparing for the new season and putting on their own shows.  She said it has been a wonderful experience. She said she was really lucky to be amongst all of her amazing colleagues.

For “Blue,” Evans is girlfriend #2, a friend of the mother. She said none of the characters have names because they could be any Black community in America. Evans character and the other two friends come in to support the mother when they are needed. She described them as being the fates or the muses in Hercules.

“This music is really beautiful. Jeanine Tesori’s music is really beautiful and the script is in English, which is a lovely thing for our audiences,” Evans said.

To prepare for her role, Evans read through the libretto, which was written by Tazewell Thompson. She said it was a really relatable libretto so it was easy to read through. She added that the story is very compelling. Because it is a relatively new work, it hasn’t been performed quite as often as other operas, so there weren’t as many recordings for her to reference. After that, she got into the notes and the rhythm and learned what was on the page. Then, she worked with her coaches at the Lyric to shape her characters, bringing out more personality and colors.

Evans said the most prevailing theme in the opera for her is the love everyone has for the son. She believes it shows how valuable people are to the people in their lives and what kind of impact one person can have throughout a whole community.

“I hope the audience sees the beauty of community. I hope that they relate to these parents and to this son. I hope they are able to see themselves in each one of these characters. And, I hope it makes people reflect on our country, how we interact with one another and how we care for one another and the depths of pain and joy we can experience as people,” she said.

Evans hopes people love the music and are struck by the beauty of the music and the power of the voices and the power of the story.

For more information about “Blue” and to purchase tickets, visit www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/blue.


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