The Arts Partnership Presents FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES

The Arts Partnership will present the excerpts from the opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones in concert featuring seven-time Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard on Feb. 23. This will be the show's Midwest premiere.

Based on the 2014 memoir by Charles M. Blow, with music by Blanchard, and libretto by Kasi Lemmons, the opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2019. The Metropolitan Opera opened its season with the work in 2021 — the first in its 138 years written by an African American composer. That production's recording went on to win the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording, featuring soprano Adrienne Danrich and baritone Will Liverman in the lead role, who will be singing excerpts from that role during this production.

“Fire Shut Up in My Bones is a masterpiece that I've had the great fortune of witnessing Terence bring to life from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to its historic moment at the Metropolitan Opera,” said Chris Harrington, President of the Arts Partnership and President and CEO of the Ordway. “As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our beautiful Concert Hall next month, we are honored to welcome Terence back to the Ordway to showcase another facet of his brilliant artistry and career with Fire Shut Up in My Bones in concert.”

In an effort to continue the message that opera and classical music are for everyone, Blanchard and The E-Collective have teamed up with the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet and visual artist Andrew F. Scott to create a concert production that features excerpts from the opera performed by the composer, this incredible ensemble and two guest singers. The music and Scott's video projections give the audience a look inside the mind of Blanchard and the world he created.

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