Jazz legend portrayed in opera
Print Edition
OPERA has not been generous in its portrayal of people of color, with few identifiably non-white leading roles in the classical repertoire.
So when prominent tenor Lawrence Brownlee was offered the opportunity to play jazz legend Charlie Parker, he seized on it.
The opera, “Yardbird,” which opens on Friday at Opera Philadelphia, offers a rare modern, black role in opera.
“As an African American myself and as an artist who had done all my work playing characters who aren’t necessarily African American, I felt it’s part of my responsibility ... to realistically portray him,” Brownlee said.
Parker’s life lends itself readily to opera. The saxophonist became one of jazz’s most influential artists, pioneering the fast-paced and improvisation-based genre of bebop, even though he lived only 34 years. When he died in 1955, Parker’s body was so ravaged by heroin abuse that the coroner thought he was twice his age.
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