World-renowned operatic bass Morris Robinson will perform a repertoire ranging from Mozart arias to Leonard Bernstein and Langston Hughes on March 2
Opera lovers, take note! On March 2, renowned operatic bass Morris Robinson will visit BYU and grace audiences with a selection of songs. The performance will combine classical operatic songs with more recent repertoire.
Robinson will open with a set that celebrates the traditional operatic style, yet introduces audience members to less frequently performed compositions. These include selections from a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart aria for bass and orchestra; several lieder, or settings of poetry to music, by Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf; and an excerpt from an opera by Giuseppe Verdi.
After reminiscing on the history of opera, the singer will explore its living present and vibrant future with a second half of the program featuring American, Jewish, Black and indigenous composers. These songs will include settings of poems by Langston Hughes and Edna St. Vincent Millay by Leonard Berstein, Florence Price, H. Leslie Adams, Charles S. Brown and Margaret Bonds.
Robinson will then connect the history of American opera to that of the American spiritual, performing traditional spirituals arranged by Wendell Whalum and Wallace Willis.
Robinson is considered one the most interesting and sought after basses performing today. An Atlanta native, he is a graduate of The Citadel and received his musical training from the Boston University Opera Institute and as a member of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Program. He was also Artistic Advisor to the Cincinnati Opera from 2019 to 2021.
He has made appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and a number of other ensembles. Robinson also regularly performs at the Metropolitan Opera at Carnegie Hall.
Along with his extensive performing repertoire, Robinson was named Resident Artist at Harvard University in 2019 and was the first African American artist to sign with a major classical record label.
As March 2 approaches, Robinson’s performance is one you won’t want to miss.
For tickets to the event, visit arts.byu.edu.