Night at Opera Provides Musical Education

On Thursday, August 25, beginning at 7 p.m. Vineyard audiences will be treated to the luscious music provided by Opera Noire. Luscious may seem an odd way to describe opera, but the performers provide so much more than great music that new and more fully-formed ways of describing the experience are needed.

Opera Noire is a performing arts company founded by three African American opera-singing enthusiasts who saw the need for African American singers to help build distinguished operatic careers. Members have entertained audiences from Milan’s La Scala to the Metropolitan Opera. The company promotes African American composers and artists, as well as performing classics with a fresh face.

But music is not their only cause. Opera Noire’s educational programs in inner-city and suburban schools both entertain students and stress the importance of learning the origins of classical music, negro spirituals, and Broadway showtunes while bridging the gap between today’s popular music.

Thursday night’s show will be at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs.

Tickets are $35. For details, visit vineyardplayhouse.org.