The Grand Announces Opening Night Concert With Delaware Symphony Orchestra, OperaDelaware, and Broadway's Brian Stokes Mitchell

The Grand, Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO), and OperaDelaware announce an Opening Season Performance, featuring the talents of their respective musicians and performers alongside Broadway legend and Tony Award-winner, Brian Stokes Mitchell.

This program was originally announced as a New Year's Eve celebration in 2021 but had to be rescheduled due to the COVID Omicron outbreak. The three organizations decided to re-mount the concert as a joint celebration of the opening of their first full "post-pandemic" seasons.

"We are thrilled to be a part of this collaboration, which we see as a hopeful message to the entire community that the arts are fully back and ready to entertain our community," says Grand Executive Director Mark Fields.

"The past few years have been challenging for all who love, support, create, and perform live music," says Brendan Cooke, OperaDelaware's General Director. "We're excited to pool the collective talents of these organizations and celebrate the return to a full season of arts performances."

"We are elated to partner with our colleagues at The Grand Opera House and OperaDelaware to bring a terrific season opening performance to Wilmington," says J.C. Barker, Executive Director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. "We can't think of a better way to celebrate the wealth of talent in Delaware than to partner with these fantastic institutions to launch the 2022-2023 arts season."

The evening will consist of a two-act program, beginning with Viennese waltzes and polkas. "Since this is a delayed New Year's Eve concert," says Barker, "We thought it would be fun to keep the light-hearted music selections in that same spirit, sort of a 'New Year's Eve in September'!" The second act will feature the talents of Mr. Stokes Mitchell and will be a celebration of Broadway standards throughout the years.

Dubbed "the last leading man" by The New York Times, two-time Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans Broadway, television, film, and concert appearances with the country's finest conductors and orchestras. He received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for his star turn in Kiss Me, Kate. He also gave Tony-nominated performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilson's King Hedley II, and Ragtime. His other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly's Last Jam, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Shuffle Along. In 2016, he was bestowed his second Tony Award, the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Tony for his charitable work with The Actors Fund. That same year, Stokes was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

His extensive screen credits began with a guest-starring role on Roots: The Next Generations, followed by a 7-year stint on Trapper John, MD and have continued with memorable appearances on everything from PBS' Great Performances to The Fresh Prince, Frasier, Glee, Jumping the Broom and his most recent recurring roles on Madam Secretary, Mr. Robot, The Path, Billions and The Good Fight. Other recent TV appearances include The Blacklist, Elementary, and Bull. As a voice-over artist, he has played dozens of characters on animated TV episodes including performing "Through Heaven's Eyes" in Dreamwork's The Prince of Egypt.

In addition to the talents of Mr. Stokes Mitchell, several stellar soloists (all OperaDelaware audience favorites) will enchant audiences with opera and operetta highlights, as guests of the Delaware Symphony, led by Maestro David Amado. Soprano Vanessa Becerra, tenor William Davenport, and baritone Eric McKeever all return to OperaDelaware for this distinctive celebration at The Grand.

Tickets to the concert - a fundraising event that will benefit all three organizations - are $75 per person and are now available for purchase at www.TheGrandWilmington.org. All tickets issued for the original New Year's Eve concert will be honored for this program.

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