“Every artist brings their POV to a program they create,” says Amy Lam, Vice President of Tisch Music, “and the platform of a song recital is, I think, the best vehicle to really appreciate an artist for who they are. Through the selection of works, you come away with what makes an artist a great one, but also an appreciation of the human aspect and the values they stand for. I’m greatly excited to be presenting mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges on our stage with a powerful and personal program in her first NYC mainstage concert” (Thu, Dec 1).
Bridges is a new superstar in the opera world. She dazzled audiences and critics and earned a Grammy Award for her role as Nefertiti in the Met Opera’s 2019 production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten. “J’Nai is an amazing talent, but it was her advocacy during the pandemic – the way she was super vocal about the lack of diversity in our industry, and demonstrating that in the most eloquent way – that really made me take notice of her,” says Lam.
Joined by the dynamic, Grammy-winning Catalyst Quartet, Bridges’ program for this concert is devoted to the music of Black and Hispanic composers. Spirituals and spiritual-inspired music bookend the concert. Bridges opens with the joyous “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” and 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence winner Carlos Simon’s more darkly soaring “Prayer (Gather Up)” – a setting of the poem by Langston Hughes. At the center of the program is a pair of works by rising star Peruvian American composer Jimmy López – the first, a tender aria from his hit opera Bel Canto, based on Ann Patchett’s bestselling novel; the second the world premiere of a new work meditating on motherhood. Falla’s evocative Seven Popular Spanish Songs leads into Bridges’ final selection – John Carter’s tour-de-force, spiritual-based Cantata, made famous by the great Leontyne Price. It’s a program J’Nai developed exclusively for this 92NY engagement.
“Audiences are in for something very special,” says Lam – not only the chance to hear one of the world’s most compelling new voices, but in music that speaks to her core as an artist and a human.”
J’Nai Bridges, pianist Mark Markham, and the Catalyst Quartet perform Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 7:30 pm. Hear them live in Kaufmann Concert Hall, or by livestream. Additional details on the program here. Read notes on the program here.