Show artwork for Wild

After Hours: Black Love

Posted on: February 5, 2021

Premiering Saturday, February 13, at 5pm PST

We're celebrating Valentine's Day weekend with an operatic twist: in recital. 

On Saturday, February 13th at 5:00 PM PST, Artist in Residence Russell Thomas welcomes Ashley Faatoalia, Tiffany Townsend, Alaysha Fox and pianist Leonard Hayes to the On Now digital stage for the first episode in our newly revived After Hours series, "Black Love." The four will perform a program of love songs from renowned Black composers, curated by none other than Russell himself.

Tune in below and experience what's sure to be the sweetest renditions of works by H.T. Burleigh, Undine Smith Moore, Margaret Bonds, and more.

 

Want to learn more about the composers featured in tonight's program? Click here
View tonight's full program by clicking "Read More" below.

After Hours: “Black Love”

Love Let the Wind Cry...How I Adore Thee (Undine Smith Moore; text by Bliss Carmen from a poem by Sappho) 
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano  

“Give Me No Body Without Your Soul” from the opera Blue Steel (William Grant Still; text by Bruce Forsythe) 
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

For You There Is No Song (H. Leslie Adams; text by Edna St. Vincent Millay) 
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Love Rejoices (H. Leslie Adams; text by James Dillet Freeman) 
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Love Memory (H. Leslie Adams; text by Paul Laurence Dunbar) 
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Love Response (H. Leslie Adams; text by Paul Laurence Dunbar)  
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Five Songs of Laurence Hope (H.T. Burleigh; text by Violet Nicolson) 
1. Worth While 
2. The Jungle Flower 
3. Kashmiri Song 
4. Among the Fuchsias 
5. Till I wake  
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Songs of the Seasons (Margaret Bonds; text by Lankston Hughes) 
1. Poème d’Automne 
2. Winter Moon 
3. Young Love in Spring 
4. Summer Storm 
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

The Breath of a Rose (William Grant Still; text by Lankston Hughes) 
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Love, Elusive Love (music and text by James H. East) 
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

The Heart of a Woman (H. Leslie Adams; text by Georgia Douglas Johnson) 
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano 

Sence You Went Away (H. Leslie Adams; text by James Weldon Johnson) 
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

I Want to Die While You Love Me (Undine Smith Moore; text by Georgia Douglas Johnson) 
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano 

 

Watch TV strip

If you prefer to watch this digital short on your Smart TV just follow these suggestions:

  • Connect your device to your TV with an HDMI cable
  • Watch from your Smart TV web browser: just enter LAOpera.org/BlackLove
  • On Roku and AppleTV download the Youtube app and search for “LA Opera Black Love”
  • Mirror your smart device's screen to your TV by following these instructions: Apple or Android

 

LAO Relief Fund lock up

With your help, we can provide support for the hundreds of artists and staff whose work and livelihood have been impacted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and provide quality programming free of charge.

The power of opera stems from the fact that nearly every aspect of each and every production is lovingly created by hand, instrument or voice.

With a full orchestra and chorus, stagehands, singers, designers, costumers, technicians and more, each opera we produce employs 300-500 people.

The LA Opera Relief Fund provides much needed relief for those impacted by production cancellations and will help us continue to employ artists, and serve and support our community during this unprecedented time.

To give to the LA Opera Relief Fund CLICK HERE