The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Jazz St. Louis have co-commissioned trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Kasi Lemmons to write a new opera that will premiere in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 15, 2019.
The opera is titled Fire Shut Up in My Bones and is based on the outspoken New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s 2014 memoir of the same name. It follows Blanchard’s first opera, Champion, which premiered in 2013 and was also commissioned by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. It also marks the first collaboration between Blanchard and Lemmons on an opera; the former previously composed the scores for three movies directed by Lemmons, including 2007’s Talk to Me.
Tickets for Fire Shut Up in My Bones will go on sale in November. Six performances of the opera are currently scheduled. For more information, go to https://www.opera-stl.org/