Today, the Long Beach Opera presents the world première of The Central Park Five, an opera composed by Anthony Davis, with a libretto by Richard Wesley.
It is the composer 8th opera after, among others, X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X (New York City Opera, September 28, 1986), Amistad (Chicago, November 29, 1997) and Lear on the 2nd Floor (San Diego, March 6, 2013).
In 1980's New York, five African American and Latino teenagers were convicted of a Central Park rape, but exonerated through DNA evidence thirteen years later. (reproduced from the Long Beach Opera website)The cast includes bass baritone Derrell Acon (Antron McCray), baritone Babatunde Akinboboye (Matias Reyes), bass baritone Cedric Berry (Yusef Salaam), tenor Orson Van Gay (Raymond Santana), mezzo Jessica Mamey (District Attorney) and tenor Thomas Segen (Donald Trump). Leslie Dunner conducts and Andreas Mitisek directs.
The venue is the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, CA. The performance should last about 90 minutes (no intermission).
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