Award-winning jazz artist and composer Terence Blanchard’s powerful operatic tale of a young man’s journey to overcome trauma and hardship This October, the second screening in our 2022 MET Live in HD series sets the mood for the Freespace Jazz Fest. Written by Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, known for his work on the films of Spike Lee, Fire Shut Up in My Bones blends elements of jazz, blues, big band and gospel in a poignant and profound story about a young man’s journey to overcome trauma and hardship. Adapted from Charles M. Blow’s moving autobiography about his 1970s childhood in Louisiana, and featuring a libretto by filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, the production premiered to great acclaim at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2019. It is the first opera by a Black composer presented on the Met stage. The new staging is conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and directed by James Robinson and Camille A. Brown – two of the creators of the Met’s sensational recent production of Porgy and Bess. The all Black cast showcases baritone Will Liverman, one of opera’s most exciting young artists, in the lead role as Charles, alongside sopranos Angel Blue as Destiny / Loneliness / Greta and Latonia Moore as Charles’s mother Billie. 15 minutes prior to the screening, special guest Will Liverman joins us live online for a pre-show talk *Content Advisory: Fire Shut Up in My Bones addresses adult themes and contains some adult language. Artistic Team: Composer: Terence Blanchard Co-Directors: James Robinson, Camille A. Brown Libretto: Kasi Lemmons Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Main Cast: Will Liverman, Angel Blue, Latonia Moore Co-presented with: Foundation for the Arts and Music in Asia Ltd. “Fresh, affecting” ── New York Times “Fire Shut Up in My Bones is in the running for best American opera of the 21st century.” ── New York Observer “A masterpiece” ── Operawire