Now streaming on-demand on the Opera Philadelphia Channel.
Opera Philadelphia Composer in Residence Tyshawn Sorey, the Newark-born multi-instrumentalist and composer celebrated for his incomparable virtuosity, will premiere a new work on the Opera Philadelphia Channel inspired by “Save the Boys,” an 1887 poem by abolitionist, writer and Black women’s rights activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.
Save the Boys is the first of four digital commissions set to debut on the channel in 2021. Sorey’s music will be written for and performed by renowned countertenor John Holiday, whose 2020 took a surprising turn after COVID-19 shut down many of the world’s opera stages. Known to Philadelphia audiences for creating the role of John Blue in 2017’s hit world premiere We Shall Not Be Moved, the 35-year-old artist has been impressing television audiences worldwide as a member of John Legend’s team on NBC’s “The Voice." For Save the Boys, Holiday will be accompanied on piano by Grant Loehnig, Opera Philadelphia’s head of music staff.
How to watch: Available on-demand with a Channel subscription or Digital Commissions Bundle, or with a seven-day rental.