First Black Composer at The Metropolitan Opera
In 2021, The Metropolitan Opera House announced its first opera by an African American composer in the organization’s almost 138-year history. The production is named after a biblical theme and the novel by Charles Blow, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones”. A part of the 2021-2022 season, the opera was written by Black American trumpeter and composer Terrence Blanchard, who has 13 Grammy nominations under his belt and 5 of those treasured awards sitting on his shelves.
Blanchard’s first opera premiered at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis back in 2015 and “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” had its premiere at that theatre as well.
With an active cry for more diversity at major museums and entertainment houses like The Met, this was a landmark move for The Metropolitan Opera. The production starred young bass-baritone singer Ryan Green and an African American woman, Denyce Graves, played the title character.
Blanchard credits The Met’s management with putting more people of color on stage doing classical opera and playing other “non-traditional” roles.
