The Town Hall Celebrates James Baldwin and The Baldwin/Buckley Debate With THE TONGUE & THE LASH

The Town Hall will celebrate James Baldwin and the 60th anniversary of the Baldwin/Buckley Cambridge debate with the New York premiere of the chamber opera, THE TONGUE & THE LASH by Damien Sneed, composer/conductor and Karen Chilton, librettist. Making her Town Hall and New York directorial debut, the opera will be directed by world-renowned mezzo-soprano, Denyce Graves-Montgomery.

A Return to Civic Discourse: Revisiting the "American Dream" 60 Years Later will include insights from moderator, esteemed novelist/poet and MacArthur Fellow, Edwidge Danticat along with panelists: Nicholas Buccola, PhD, award-winning author of The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate Over Race in America; Dr. Brenda M. Greene, author and literary activist, founder and executive director of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York; Matt Brim, PhD, Professor of Queer Studies at the College of Staten Island, author of James Baldwin and the Queer Imagination (2014); and Dr. Frank Leon Roberts, a writer, activist, scholar, and award-winning political organizer. He is the professor of English and Black Studies at Amherst College. He is also the founder and executive director of The Baldwin Hansberry Project. THE TONGUE & THE LASH and A RETURN TO CIVIC DISCOURSE will be held at The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, New York, NY on February 18, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m.).

"As the city and the world continues to celebrate James Baldwin's centennial, The Town Hall is honored to present a program devoted to one of the most enduring debates in American and World history," says Melay Araya, Artistic Director of The Town Hall. "In keeping with the institution's history of debate and our century-long commitment to African American classical music, we are proud to partner with Damien Sneed, Karen Chilton and opera legend Denyce Graves-Montgomery, along with our distinguished moderator Edwidge Danticat and four panelists."

On February 18, 1965 as the Civil Rights movement gripped the U.S., another epochal event centered on race relations was being waged at the University of Cambridge between cultural giants, author/activist James Baldwin and leading conservative, William F. Buckley, Jr. Televised live on the BBC Network (and later on American TV), the two public intellectuals debated the motion: "Is the American dream at the expense of the American Negro?"

The contrast between the two men was stark in terms of their backgrounds, life experience, and political ideology. Baldwin, a Black expatriate writer, born and raised in Harlem; Buckley, a Yale man from a wealthy family and a staunch conservative. Though the packed crowd was riveted by both debaters' perspectives, Baldwin was the ultimate victor in a 544 to 164 vote. THE TONGUE & THE LASH picks up at the debate's end, imagining their intimate exchange after the cameras were off and the crowd had gone.

"The libretto of THE TONGUE & THE LASH was inspired not only by the sheer brilliance and unrelenting spirit of a literary hero, James Baldwin, but also by the ferocity of the debate itself," says Karen Chilton. "The intellectual sparring between these two men was nothing short of grand theater; the subject matter-racial disparity vis a vis the ever-elusive 'American dream'-is indeed fertile ground in which to construct a dramatic work. While I deliberately chose not to disturb the integrity of the actual debate but to create something entirely original, the conceit then becomes a post-debate conversation infused with all the pugilistic fervor on display that historic night in 1965. Baldwin's prescient message and Buckley's resistance to it, compels us, even now, to reckon with where we are, and how we got here."

THE TONGUE & THE LASH, commissioned by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, had its world premiere in 2021 to critical acclaim. In this production, the role of "Baldwin" will be performed by baritone, Joseph Parrish with the role of "Buckley" performed by Andrew Morstein, and Christian Pursell as the "Adjudicator," accompanied by Damien Sneed's Orchestra of Tomorrow.

"I was first introduced to James Baldwin in the 8th grade when I read his book, Go Tell It On The Mountain, for my book report. I am honored to celebrate his legacy, life, and prophetic acumen by composing this opera along with my long-time collaborative partner, Karen Chilton, librettist. I am excited to see my friend, one of the most luminary figures in opera, the director Denyce Graves-Montgomery, bring this production to life with the incredible support of Melay Araya, Artistic Director of Town Hall."

This first-time collaboration with the creative team of Sneed and Chilton, Denyce Graves-Montgomery shares her enthusiasm, "Directing the New York premiere of The Tongue & The Lash is an extraordinary opportunity to bring one of the most iconic intellectual exchanges of the twentieth century to the stage. This opera, inspired by the debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr., delves into the timeless and urgent questions of race, privilege, and morality in America. Baldwin's searing truths and Buckley's pointed rhetoric are reimagined through the powerful medium of music, creating a space for reflection and dialogue that resonates deeply with today's audience and a return to our Civic Discourse. It's an honor to guide this creative exploration of a historical moment that continues to shape our collective conscience."

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