Poet And Lyricist’s Opera Set To Debut At Lyric Opera House

avery r. young created the opera “safronia” which will have performances at the Lyric Opera on April17-18. John Shaw and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
avery r. young created the opera “safronia” which will have performances at the Lyric Opera on April17-18. John Shaw and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Poet And Lyricist’s Opera Set To Debut At Lyric Opera House

By Tia Carol Jones

avery r. young was the first poet laureate of the city of Chicago. Now he has created an opera called safronia, which will be performed Friday and Saturday, April 17th-18th, at the Lyric Opera House, located at 20 N. Wacker Drive.

The opera centers around safronia booker, who returns to Mississippi to bury her father. young said he wanted to present the story of the Great Migration, specifically his great grandparents’ migration from the South to Chicago through opera and theatre.

 He said he was inspired by the music Black people created in this country and brought to Chicago from the South. young said that safronia uses music and poetry to tell a story of a family that had to leave the South, based upon racial violence.

young said music is used to advocate that the music genres of Blues, Funk and Gospel are not separated from classical American music. He said those genres are American classical music and songs like These Last Two Dollars and Take My Hand Precious Lord are, in fact, Opera.

young sites Gwendolyn Brooks, Angela Jackson, Haki Madhubuti, Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton and Nikki Giovanni as his influences. He said that when he met them, they were supportive and showed him love. He said that his biggest inspiration when it comes to what he does with music and storytelling, especially in safronia, comes from Nina Simone, Oscar Brown, Jr. and Gil Scott Heron, as well as Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield, who he called his deacons.

“Oscar Brown, Jr., stands out the most, just based on how he combined stories and music,” he said. “And the fact that he sang as well, all of that has shaped me as a creative and performer.”

young said that people should expect a different experience from what they think Opera is and should expect to see the stories of their grandparents and great grandparents. He said he likes the idea that safronia will get people to go to the Opera who have never been. He is excited to give people a chance to see a new work with this music. He has already heard that people who have never been to the Opera are coming to see the performances.

“That’s what I’m doing this for and I’m hoping more people across the country and the world have a similar experience,” he said.  young said when people see safronia they will see people in a real or imaginary world singing a story to them, just like at any other Opera.

young said he wants people who see safronia to take away a song, and he wants people to come together and not be so divided. He said that the most important work that needs to be done in this country is for people to unite.

For more information about avery r. young, visit www.averyryoung.com. For tickets to safronia, visit www.lyricopera.org/safronia, or call 312-827-5600.

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