Organization

Conductor

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Set designer

Allen Moyer

Costume designer

Paul Tazewell

Lighting designer

Donald Holder

Choreographer

Camille A Brown

Stage director

James Robinson

Singer

Stephanie Blythe

Kathy Hagan

Ryan Speedo Green

Kid Emile Griffith

Eric Owens

Emile Griffith

Latonia Moore

Emelda Griffith

Video designer

Greg Emetaz

Müpa Budapest

Orchestra

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Others

Metropolitan Opera Choir

Champion

Budapest

Hungary

Festival Theatre

Champion Blanchard

Public

Approved

Griffith, who died in 2013 at the age of 75, was one of the most successful professional boxers of all time, winning the world championship title in both the welterweight and middleweight categories. The dramatic life story of an athlete who literally fought his way out from a childhood of hopeless poverty was literally made for the stage. This is true whether we think of the lethal KO punch that turned out to end the life of one of his rivals, the storms surrounding his private life and the bisexuality that he acknowledged in his old age, or his final, hopeless struggle against dementia. His story is told in Blanchard's opera, in which the aforementioned two great African-American singers will play the roles of Griffith, one as the young man who is fighting for the title belt, and the other as his older self attempting to look back on his life. Like Owens and Green, Latonia Moore, who portrays Griffith's estranged mother, was featured in the 2019 global broadcast of Porgy and Bess, a magnificent production that marks the last time James Robinson and choreographer Camille A. Brown worked together before joining forces again for this one.

English

Champion by Blanchard, From (2023/2023), Directed by James Robinson,, Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Festival Theatre, Budapest, Hungary

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues