Approaching Ali

Approaching Ali is an opera by composer D. J. Sparr and librettists Mark Campbell and Davis Miller. The inspiration for the opera comes from Miller's story "My Dinner With Ali" and his book The Tao of Muhammad Ali that related the friendship of the writer with the boxer Mohammad Ali.[1][2]

Approaching Ali
Opera by D. J. Sparr
LibrettistMark Campbell and Davis Miller
Based onThe Tao of Muhammad Ali
by Davis Miller
Premiere
June 8, 2013 (2013-06-08)
Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

Approaching Ali: A Chamber Opera in One Act had its world premiere at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2013, under the directorship of Nicole A. Watson. The opera was commissioned by Washington National Opera.[3] In 2015, the opera was staged by North Carolina Opera.[4]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, June 8, 2013
(Conductor: Steven Jarvi)
Davis Miller baritone David Kravitz
Muhammad Ali bass Soloman Howard
Odessa Clay soprano Aundi Moore
Young Davis boy soprano Ethan McKelvain
Roy Miller tenor Tim Augustin
Sara Miller mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin

Synopsis

The story is about a boy in North Carolina in the early 1960s who is galvanized to overcome some traumatic childhood events when he sees Muhammad Ali on television. More than twenty years later, as a writer on the brink of middle age, he now seeks to rekindle that spirit by visiting his boyhood hero in person at his mother's home in Louisville, Kentucky.

References


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