Blue

A loving Black couple anticipates the arrival of their first child. While pregnant, The Mother –a restaurant owner– commiserates with her female friends about their hopes and fears for the baby boy. After their son arrives, The Father, a police officer, is warmly congratulated by his fellow officers over drinks.

Sixteen years later, The Son is now a young artist and activist, and clashes with his father – finding himself at odds with his parent’s role as a cop. Despite their tensely divergent views on policing and protesting, The Father affirms his love and support for The Son.

After The Son is killed by a police officer at a protest, The Father seeks counsel from a Reverend, but chafes at the suggestion that he must forgive this injustice. The Mother grieves with her friends, mourning the loss of her child and the other Black boys who have been slain at the hands of police. The congregants find solace at the funeral.

We end on a note of remembrance as The Mother, The Father, and The Son gather at the dinner table in a poignant memory of familial tenderness.

ACT 1

The Mother, a Harlem restaurateur, gathers with three Girlfriends in her home. She is pregnant, and reveals to the women that she is expecting a boy. They congratulate her even as they commiserate over the fears of a Black mother bringing a boy into this world. The Mother expresses her rapturous love for her husband, and her hopes for her child, and her friends join in offering their blessings and good wishes for the baby.

In the hospital, a Nurse energetically offers the new parents advice for their son. Afterwards, The Father, a police officer, gathers with his coworkers for drinks at the bar. His fellow officers joke together, toasting him on becoming a dad, offering advice and congratulations with warm camaraderie.

Time flashes forward, and The Son is now a thoughtful and rebellious teenager with strong views on his own independence, and on societal injustice. A student, artist, and activist, The Son participates in protests and stands up for his views. A tense argument unfolds as The Son offers his indictment and scorn over The Father’s role as a cop upholding –in The Son’s view– the oppressive status quo. Despite their heated disagreement, The Father affirms his protective love and support for the teen, and the scene ends with their embrace.

Musical highlights:

• In an interview with Seattle Opera, composer Tesori points to the musical theme during the moment when The Nurse instructs The Father on how to hold The Son. She points out the recurrence of this musical theme during the end of the opera, where The Mother instructs God (the Heavenly Father) on how to hold The Son in His care.

ACT 2

In an incident that is not depicted on stage, The Son has been shot and killed during a protest, by a police officer. The Father meets with The Reverend. The Reverend attempts to guide The Father through his rage and immense hurt, but The Father responds with a newfound cynicism of these efforts to soothe the pain, bringing into question the function of religion in this acute moment of loss. In a reversal of roles from the father-son scene in the first act, it is now The Father who rebels and rages against the wisdom and institutional role of an authority figure (in the form of The Reverend). The Father’s anguish does not find relief through this conversation.

The Mother once again gathers with her Girlfriends, in another inversion of an earlier scene. This time, the women lament the loss of The Son, and recount too many other cases of police brutality against Black youth. The Girlfriends offer their support to the bereft Mother as she breaks down, and prepares to lay The Son to rest.

The Congregants gather to mark the funeral of The Son and mourn together in a profound moment of community.

In a closing vignette, The Father, The Mother, and The Son gather together at the dinner table. This implied flashback hearkens to a happier moment where The Mother has prepared a conciliatory meal of chicken, plus plentiful greens for her vegan son. The family joins together lovingly as The Son shares his artistic ambitions and his plans to attend one more peaceful protest.

Musical Highlights:

• “Somebody, oh somebody” – the climactic ensemble piece during the funeral, drawing upon references to Black spirituals.
• Tesori points particularly to the musical theme that occurs when The Father gives his badge to The Reverend, saying “I lay my burden down. I ain’t going to study war no more”; marking this as a particularly meaningful musical motif.

• Tazewell Thompson originally conceived of The Father as a jazz musician (like Thompson’s own father), but acquiesced to the composer’s suggestion that The Father instead be a police officer, leaning into the poignance of this choice.
• The primary characters are unnamed – simply The Mother, The Father, and The Son – allowing for the audience to understand the universality of their story, and particularly to highlight the commonality of this experience for the many Black families who have suffered such a tragic loss.
• Following its premiere, the opera was named the Best New Opera in 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America.
• Blue is Jeanine Tesori’s third opera, as she is primarily known as a revered musical theater composer. Renowned playwright Tazewell Thompson, although a frequent director of opera, wrote his first-ever opera libretto for Blue.

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