Traveling the world as an international opera star, Angela Brown noticed something about audiences. “I would see very few people who looked like me,” says Brown. On the surface, it looked like a racial divide, but when Brown performed at schools and universities across the country, she realized the gap was bigger than race. This compelled her to create Opera...from a Sistah's Point of View, which dispels the myths surrounding the sometimes-intimidating art form called opera.
Through her not-so-serious takes on the opera stories and by demonstrating the ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic diversity portrayed in opera characters, she helps people from all walks of life and races find themselves in and enjoy opera. She blows up the preconceived expectations of opera by mixing show-stopping arias, poignant art songs, and moving spirituals with tongue-in-cheek commentary from a Black perspective. The show breaks down barriers for audiences that wouldn't necessarily include opera as a part of their entertainment options. Brown likes to say, "Opera is not about being a certain way, dressing a certain way, speaking a certain way. It's about experiencing, and opera is for everyone!"
Angela's multi-genre career has been lauded on the front page of The New York Times, CNN, CBS, in Oprah Magazine and Reader's Digest. With classical and pops engagements spanning six continents, Angela has graced the leading opera and symphonic stages of the world. Her vocal artistry is featured on the two-time Grammy Award® winning recording “Ask Your Mama.”
This show is co-produced by Opera Birmingham and Cincinnati Opera and is a creation of Morning Brown, Inc.
Our season has been made possible, in part, by grants from Alabama State Council on the Arts, The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, The Daniel Foundation of Alabama, Hugh Kaul Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts, and by support from Alabama Media Group.