Review of Terence Blanchard’s Opera “Champion” at the Metropolitan Opera

In the fall of 2021, Terence Blanchard’s second lyrical work, Fire shut up in my bones opened the season of the Metropolitan Opera which, on this occasion, created the event by putting on display for the first time a score written by a black composer. The success was such that the New York institution chose to program this year the first opera of this composer, Champion, created in Saint-Louis about ten years ago. The booklet, signed Michael Cristofer, deals with guilt and redemption through the tormented life of Emile Griffith crowned world welterweight champion in 1962 after a match in which his opponent Benny “Kid” Paret, fell into a coma before dying ten days later. Griffith will never recover psychologically from this fight. He will remain haunted for the rest of his life by the death of his opponent, whom he had knocked out following a flurry of uppercuts, the violence of which originated in the homophobic insults Paret had hurled at him before the match. Although he was tight-lipped about it, Griffith’s sexual orientation was well known in boxing circles. The plot is presented in the form of a flashback like that of Fire. As the curtain rises, we see Griffith aged and confused, plagued by his demons, in the Long Island apartment he shares with his adopted son Luis. Then the action moves to Saint-Thomas, the native island of the future champion in the Caribbean Sea, where the young man prepares to join the continent to find work there. The following scene takes us to New York where Griffith finds his mother and gets hired in a hat factory whose boss notices his build and convinces him to become a boxer. Then we see Griffith working out in a gym, having a drink in a gay bar populated by drag queens, having dinner at a club where he meets his future wife and finally stepping into the ring to face Paret. The second act shows us the professional rise of Griffith which goes from victories to victories, then his decline and finally his aggression at the exit of the gay bar. The opera ends with Griffith meeting Paret’s adult son, whom he asks for forgiveness. After which the ex-champion returns to his bedroom from the first act.

James Robinsonwho had already staged Fire shut up in my bones created a flamboyant spectacle thanks to the sumptuous decorations ofAllen Moyerin the sumptuous costumes of Montana Levi Blanco and relevant videos from Greg Emetaz.

Griffith’s modest apartment surrounded by sinister buildings is followed by the colorful carnival of Saint-Thomas, then a train station in New York, Howie Albert’s hat factory, Kathy Hagen’s colorful nightclub and the room in which the The training of the boxers gives rise to a choreography both sporty and sensual signed Camille A. Brown. The climax of the first act is the fight between Griffith and Paret, in a ring placed in the center of the set, during which each punch is presented as a film sequence with slow motion and a brief freeze frame. For this scene, the two protagonists were trained by a coach. The virtuoso and precise direction of the actor is inspired by the cinema, an impression reinforced by the retransmission on a big screen.

The music presents itself as a skilful patchwork where various influences mingle, jazz of course, especially in the nightclub sequence, some echoes of Caribbean rhythms, during the carnival and for the first tune of Emelda, the mother of Griffith, all punctuated by great lyrical flights that evoke at times film music from the 1950s. Airs, duets, trios, ensembles and choirs capture the listener’s attention for a long time. Note that the composer occasionally brings together the various interpreters of Griffith for a duo or a trio. Among the most notable arias are Emelda’s second aria accompanied by a plucked double bass, the poignant aria of young Griffith “When’s a man a man” as well as that of Griffith as a child interpreted by the touching and just soprano voice of the little Ethan Joseph who holds above his head a cinder block at arm’s length to evoke the mistreatment suffered by the little boy. The score, less accomplished than that of Fire shut up in my bones has been revamped and fleshed out for its premiere at the Met. It includes here and there some redundancies, the outcome for example would have benefited from being more concise. However, it does not lack attractions as it is, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of the almost sold-out Met room at the final curtain.

As usual, the Met has assembled a flawless cast, including for the many supporting roles. All of them, in addition to being excellent actors, have the physique of their job as in the cinema. Edward Nelsonwhose clear timbre is not devoid of seduction, is perfect in the role of the young gay man whom Griffith meets furtively in a bar. Chauncey Packer, also a tenor, embodies with great sensitivity the adopted, affectionate and caring son of the elderly boxer. Third tenor of the cast, Paul Groves makes an astonishing composition as a business leader converted into a manager. The voice, which tends to peak in the high register, has lost none of its impact. His background as a Mozart tenor allows him to sing his aria with impeccable legato. For his Met debut, Eric Greene proves convincing in the double role of Benny Paret father and son. Arrogant in the skin of the first that he embodies with a trumpeting voice, humble and respectful in front of the elderly Griffith then. The time of a melancholy air, Brittany Renee manages to move with its character of abandoned wife doomed to loneliness. Stephanie Blythe is masterful as a deliberately vulgar gay bar owner. The extent of its means allows it to easily cover the volume of the orchestra during its interventions. His raging temperament and the sometimes obscene replies which are devolved to him, trigger the hilarity of the public. Latonia Moore who already embodied the hero’s mother in Fire shut up in my bones, composes an endearing character even in its excesses. Inconsequential and frivolous when she meets her son whom she does not recognize right away, she acquires a certain depth throughout the work which is expressed in her second aria accompanied by a pizzicato for the double bass, in which she expresses all the distress she hid within herself.

Finally, three soloists embody Griffith at three points in his life. We have already mentioned above the amazing performance ofEthan Joseph for Griffith as a child. It is Eric Owens who embodies with great sensitivity the champion at the end of his life. The American bass has a rocky timbre and a solid low register that allow it to excel in this job of a wounded man whose mental health is wavering. Finally Ryan Speedo Green who has interpreted secondary roles on the Met stage until now, literally burns the boards by interpreting with accuracy this boxer who feels bad about himself, haunted by the death he has caused, who is desperately seeking inner peace. The timbre is velvety and the voice lacks neither fullness nor projection, as evidenced by his superb Kurwenal at the Opéra Bastille last January. Moreover, endowed with an athlete’s physique, the baritone is perfectly credible in the ring.

Dressed in an athletic trainer’s tracksuit, Yannick View Séguin conducts this teeming score with ease and an adequate sense of rhythm. He manages to confer a cohesion that seems obvious to the various musical currents that run through Blanchard’s music. Finally, let us emphasize the excellence of the choirs prepared by Donald Palumbo in their many interventions.

On Saturday May 20, the Metropolitan Opera will broadcast in Pathé Live network cinemas Don Giovanni with Peter Mattei in the title role.