Upcoming Performances
Untitled Event
March to Freedom for All
Arch Angel Productions invites you to the first live event of the 2026-27 season of Songs for the Beloved Community, an afternoon of extraordinary music, powerful words, and community conversation.
At the heart of March to Freedom for All is the African American Spiritual, our ancestors’ testimony in tune and text, brought forward in 20th- and 21st-century settings and arrangements.
Featuring Music Artists (L to R)
Roy Jennings, pianist, Artistic Director, Arch Angel Productions (Bottom); James Austin, pianist; Karmesha Peake, mezzo soprano; Jennifer Eloy, Vocalist, Praise & Worship, First Presbyterian Church of Englewood;; Andrea Jones-Sojola, soprano; Marvin Lowe bass baritone; Christian Waugh bass baritone, First Presbyterian Church of Englewood; Tyrell Belle, Vocalist, Minister of Music, Community Baptist Church of Englewood
Through Spirituals and related musical traditions, gifted artists will take us on a musical journey interwoven with five brief reflections inspired by questions that remain urgent in our own time:
Who is our neighbor?
Community or chaos?
How do we build a moral coalition across the lines that divide us?
What did Jesus see and feel?
Christ is coming for His church, not ours.
The five reflections will be offered by Pastor Richard Hong of First Presbyterian Church of Englewood; the Rev. Dr. Lester W. Taylor Jr., Senior Pastor of Community Baptist Church of Englewood; and the Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Dean of Graduate Leadership Studies at Virginia Union University, and others.
The program draws inspiration from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the Beloved Community and the continuing moral witness of Rev. William J. Barber II’s Poor People’s Campaign.
At the center of this first gathering are two Englewood congregations with distinct histories and worship traditions:
Community Baptist Church of Englewood
and
First Presbyterian Church of Englewood
Their musicians, ministers, and members will join Arch Angel Productions artists for an afternoon of listening, reflection, and extraordinary music.
The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Ensemble
Bass-baritone Alfred Walker and soprano Brittany Renee headline one of the defining works of American music theater. With its fusion of opera, jazz, and Broadway, the Gershwins’ enduring masterpiece features a number of tunes whose popularity has transcended the opera house, including the classics “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Hailed by The Washington Post as “a Porgy of its time that speaks to ours,” James Robinson’s vivid staging features electrifying choreography by Camille A. Brown, with an all-star ensemble portraying the community of Catfish Row.
A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam; and English National Opera
JOY OF SINGING CONCERT
Experience an evening of jazz, classical, and your favorite tunes, part of the ongoing concert series celebrating great music and community at Bayside United Methodist Church.
Play by Alexander Ekman
A pool filled with green balls, giant cubes suspended from the ceiling, balloon games and breathtaking chases… In Play, Alexander Ekman addresses adults and wonders what we do with our childhood games.
With a set design as impressive as it is offbeat, dreamlike scenes punctuated by Mikael Karlsson’s jazzy music and a whimsical approach that thumbs its nose at the seriousness of adulthood, the Swedish choreographer’s work is playful and transgressive.
Since its 2017 premiere at the Palais Garnier by the Paris Opera Ballet, this ballet for forty dancers has won huge acclaim from audiences, seduced by the imagination and infectious energy of a piece that revives our childhood joys.
Karmesha will cover singer Calista “Callie” Day and present as lead singer for matinee performance July 26 at 1:30 PM.
Summer Recital Soiree
Karmesha Peake returns home to Louisville, Kentucky to sing a summer recital in conjunction with Taylor Town AME Zion Church. She will be singing the melodious songs of Gabriel Fauré, Charles Gounod, Roy Jennings, and African American Art Songs & Spirituals.
Special Guest, Mason King Ray will feature works on the piano, as well.
Tickets are $30 at the door.
MORE ABOUT MASON
Mason King Ray is a twelve year old rising upcoming musician in Louisville, KY.
Mason plays alto saxophone in the band where he ended his sixth grade year participating in their Spring Concert at Barret TMS. Mason studies piano under the tutelage of Mrs. Yolanda Green-Graham, since 2021, participating in Winter and Spring Piano Recitals.
He is a proud member of Phillips Memorial Methodist Church. Mason enjoys flag football, karaoke, and vacations.
Mason is loved and supported by his parents Brittany Robinson and PJ Louis Ray.
Tin Angel by Daniel Asia
The Tin Angel Opera, written to a libretto by Paul Pines andbased on his widely acclaimed novel of the same name, with music by award-winning composer Daniel Asia, is set in the edgy world of a NYC downtown Bowery jazz club, where a unique cast of characters play out their dramatic story as a call for redemption. Karmesha will cover the role of Black Hattie
The inspiration behind the story is The Tin Palace, the real-life New York City’s jazz mecca of the 70s, founded by Paul Pines in 1973.
SUNG IN
English with Supertitles
RUNNING TIME
2 hours and 30 minutes with a 20-minute intermission
ACCESSIBILITY
La MaMa and all Teatro Grattacielo productions are wheelchair accessible and disability-friendly. Please contact us in advance for any specific accommodation needs.
MORE ABOUT TIN ANGEL
The Tin Angel is a grand opera in the tradition of Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Carlisle Floyd, great American composers who incorporated popular folk songs and jazz styles into serious works with an unmistakably American flavor. Daniel Asia (music) and Paul Pines (libretto) have based the story on Pines’ own hit novel from 1982, and it’s a story unlike any other in opera, combining the American immigrant experience with the energy and suspense of a detective thriller. It incorporates elements of jazz into serious art music in a tale of love, revenge, and redemption set in the dangerous, underground world of a Bowery nightclub.
Tin Angel
The Tin Angel Opera, written to a libretto by Paul Pines andbased on his widely acclaimed novel of the same name, with music by award-winning composer Daniel Asia, is set in the edgy world of a NYC downtown Bowery jazz club, where a unique cast of characters play out their dramatic story as a call for redemption. Karmesha will cover the role of Black Hattie
The inspiration behind the story is The Tin Palace, the real-life New York City’s jazz mecca of the 70s, founded by Paul Pines in 1973.
SUNG IN
English with Supertitles
RUNNING TIME
2 hours and 30 minutes with a 20-minute intermission
ACCESSIBILITY
La MaMa and all Teatro Grattacielo productions are wheelchair accessible and disability-friendly. Please contact us in advance for any specific accommodation needs.
MORE ABOUT TIN ANGEL
The Tin Angel is a grand opera in the tradition of Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Carlisle Floyd, great American composers who incorporated popular folk songs and jazz styles into serious works with an unmistakably American flavor. Daniel Asia (music) and Paul Pines (libretto) have based the story on Pines’ own hit novel from 1982, and it’s a story unlike any other in opera, combining the American immigrant experience with the energy and suspense of a detective thriller. It incorporates elements of jazz into serious art music in a tale of love, revenge, and redemption set in the dangerous, underground world of a Bowery nightclub.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz.
Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.
An opera by Terence Blanchard. Based on the Book by Charles M. Blow. Libretto by Kasi Lemmons.
Music in Midtown - Spirituals: Music of Bach, Johnson, and Jennings
Pianist Roy Jennings performs with bass-baritone Kenneth Overton and mezzo-soprano Karmesha Peake for the Music in Midtown series in Elebash Hall. Audience members may attend the concert live in Elebash Hall or view the livestream here. (Passcode: 391332)
Lucia di Lammermoor
Hudson River Opera presents Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti’s classic based on Scottish novelist Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor. The opera traces rival families, thwarted love, and unhealthy obsessions in a powerful tale of an innocent woman manipulated by the men in her life.
The chaplain Raimondo, Lucia’s tutor is beautifully portrayed by Mezzo Soprano Karmesha Peake. Sung in Italian the opera is composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano.
Admission is free and open to the Public | Suggested Donation of $20
Lucia di Lammermoor
Donizetti’s compelling romantic drama Lucia di Lammermoor is an example of the bel canto school of 19th-century Italian opera.
Set in nineteenth-century Scotland, Lucia di Lammermoor tells the emotional tale of Lucia, a woman who is constantly manipulated by the men in her life. When she gets caught up in a family feud by falling in love with their sworn enemy, Lucia is pushed to her limit and finally decides to take control of her situation, with tragic consequences for the life of her new husband and her sanity.
The chaplain Raimondo, Lucia’s tutor is beautifully portrayed by Mezzo Soprano Karmesha Peake.
Based on Scottish novelist Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor, the opera traces rival families, thwarted love and unhealthy obsessions in a powerful tale of an innocent woman manipulated by the men in her life.
Sung in Italian the opera is composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano.
There are no actual tickets but the suggested donation is $20.
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis
the little Opera of ny | American One Acts, a double bill
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35006/production/1155684
the little Opera of ny | American One Acts, a double bill
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35006/production/1155684