Karen Slack: Of Thee I Sing Comes to National Sawdust This Month

Karen Slack: Of Thee I Sing will be performed as part of The Future Is... Festival. The performance is on Thursday, June 16.

Celebrated American soprano Karen Slack's dynamic opera and recital performances combined with her passionate advocacy for racial justice and women composers make her a sought-after artist on many fronts. For her performance at National Sawdust, Slack performs Of Thee I Sing, her incredibly moving program conceived during the turmoil in the summer of 2020, when the country was forced into a long-overdue racial awakening. After witnessing the murder of George Floyd on national television - as many did while confined to their homes during the onset of the pandemic - Slack felt it necessary to create a program focusing on the healing powers of justice and love. The program will include material from composers Clayton White, Undine Smith Moore, Ricky Ian Gordon, Scott Gendel, H. Leslie Adams, Jake Heggie, and Adolphus Hailstork. Karen Slack is a 2022 National Sawdust Creative Partner.

A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and hailed for possessing a voice of extraordinary beauty, Karen Slack has garnered international renown for her artistic versatility, charisma, and entrepreneurial endeavors. She has received critical acclaim for her dynamic and passionate performances in lead operatic roles on the concert stage, and as a sought-after collaborator known for her leadership and advocacy as a curator and artistic advisor and groundbreaking approach to engagement in opera. Slack's extraordinary dramatic range and passion for new work has been featured in multiple world premiere productions and appearances with such distinguished companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera and San Francisco Opera, among many others.