Fire Shut Up in My Bones
Music by Terence Blanchard · libretto by Kasi Lemmons · premiered 2019 · at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Fire Shut Up in My Bones is an English-language opera in three acts, with music by Terence Blanchard and libretto by Kasi Lemmons. The opera was first performed at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2019, and is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Charles M. Blow.
It opened the Metropolitan Opera season in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic, and was the first opera by a black composer ever performed there in the Met's 138-year history. Fire returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 2024. The narrative focus of the opera is on Charles, a young African-American man growing up in poverty. As he comes of age, he must decide how to deal with the sexual abuse he previously suffered at the hands of his cousin. At the climax, he decides not to take revenge.
The opera includes flashbacks and the appearance of the protagonist's internal voices in the form of female spirits. The 2019 premiere opened to mixed reviews, and in subsequent years critics have tended to focus on the historical importance of the 2021 Metropolitan Opera production. Blanchard's music has divided critics, both in terms of the quality of the score and his influences.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Fire Shut Up in My Bones", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Terence Blanchard is the composer of record for this opera.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Terence Blanchard", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.