Fire Shut Up in My Bones

Fire Shut Up in My Bones is an English-language opera in three acts, with music by Terence Blanchard and libretto by Kasi Lemmons. The opera was first performed in 2019 and is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Charles M. Blow.[1][2]

It was the first opera by a black composer performed at the Metropolitan Opera.[3][4]

Background
Composer Terence Blanchard performing in Rotterdam in 2014

Blanchard described Fire Shut Up in My Bones as "opera in jazz". It is the composer's second opera, following Champion in 2013. Aside from opera, Blanchard has won five Grammy Awards for his jazz records.[5] The title of the opera, which was also the title of Blow's memoir, is a biblical reference, specifically quoting Jeremiah 20:9.[6]

Performance history

The opera made its world premiere on June 15, 2019, at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.[7][8] The conductor of the premiere performance was William Long. Performers included Julia Bullock and Davóne Tines.[9]

The Metropolitan Opera's 2021–2022 season opened with Fire Shut Up in My Bones on September 27, 2021. It was the first opera by a black composer performed at the Metropolitan Opera since its founding in 1883. The conductor was Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The co-director and choreographer was Camille A. Brown.[10] Fire Shut Up in My Bones had not been intended as a season opener at the Metropolitan Opera, but general manager Peter Gelb stated that the Black Lives Matter movement had informed his decision to move the piece to such a prominent slot.[11]

The Lyric Opera of Chicago will present the opera in March/April 2022.[12]

Roles
Roles, voice types, and premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, June 15, 2019
Conductor: William Long[8]
Charles (adult) bass-baritone Davóne Tines
Char’es-Baby (Charles, as a boy) treble voice Jeremy Denis
Chester, Charles' cousin baritone Markel Reed
Destiny/Loneliness, apparition soprano Julia Bullock
Billie, Charles' mother soprano Karen Slack
Spinner, Billie's husband tenor Chaz’men Williams-Ali
Greta soprano Julia Bullock

Synopsis

Act I

Charles is driving down a Louisiana road, with gun in hand, to murder his cousin Chester. Destiny entices him to go back to his childhood. The scene is now Charles's childhood. He is known as Char'es Baby and is the neighborhood baby. He craves attention from his stressed mother, Billie.

Billie works in a chicken factory and Charles spends time at his Uncle Paul's farm. Spinner, Billie's husband, is a womanizing spendthrift. When Billie discovers his infidelity she threatens him with a gun and tosses him out. She decides to start her life over again and move to Uncle Paul's Farm (Aria: Leave it in Road). While Billie and Charles's brothers go to collect the spoils of a turned over meat truck, Charles dreams of a better life, collecting things from a junk yard.

At Thanksgiving, his cousin Chester comes to visit. He steals from a candy store with Charles under the pretext of showing Charles how to be a man. As Billie sees Chester and Charles are getting on well, she says both of them can sleep in the same room together. Chester molests Charles. Charles feels extreme shame and feels unable to tell anybody what happened.

Intermezzo

Charles is haunted by images of male figures at night.

Act II

In an attempt to put his shame and anger at rest, Charles is baptized in the Baptist Church. This fails and Charles tries to confide his feelings to his brothers but they rebuff him. He flees to his abandoned house in the woods, where a mysterious voice sings to him. (Aria: Bend Don't Break). He meets a girl named Evelyn and they have sex. His brothers proclaim that this has solved problems. Charles decides to go north and strike out on his own (Aria: Peculiar Grace) but he gets a full scholarship to the nearby Grambling State University which his mother persuades him to accept. Billie decides to start taking classes again and reflects on all she has sacrificed to support her sons.

Act III

The act opens with a step dance. At Grambling, Charles is pledging Kappa Alpha Psi. He is hazed by the brothers but is accepted when he does not show pain during this. At a fraternity party, Charles meets Greta and they begin an affair. Charles reveals his secret to Greta and Greta tells him that she is in love with another boy and that she cannot live a double life. Charles is devastated, and calls his mother. She tells him that Chester has come to visit and Charles threatens him over the phone.

The scene changes to that at the beginning of the opera. Charles's younger self appears to tell him to forget his pain. Charles arrives at his house and finds that Chester has fled. He decides to finally reveal to his mother what happened. [13]

References
  1. Davidson, Justin (September 28, 2021). "The Met Comes Alight Again With Shut Up in My Bones". vulture.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  2. Rockwell, John (September 28, 2021). "Fire Shut Up in My Bones makes Met Opera history". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  3. Tommasini, Anthony (September 28, 2021). "Review: Fire Shut Up in My Bones brings a Black Composer to the Met, Finally". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  4. Leparmentier, Arnaud (October 21, 2021). "La partition engagée de Terence Blanchard au Metropolitan Opera". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. Smith, David (October 6, 2021). "'It was much bigger than me': Terence Blanchard on being the Met Opera's first Black composer". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  6. "Jeremiah 20:9 NRSV". www.biblegateway.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. Ross, Alex (October 18, 2021). "The Tense, Turbulent Sounds of Fire Shut Up in My Bones". The New Yorker. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  8. Tommasini, Anthony (June 16, 2019). "Review: The Wrenching Fire Shut Up in My Bones Becomes an Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  9. Lentjes, Rebecca (June 11, 2019). "Playbill: Speaking Out – A New Opera Premieres at Opera Theatre Saint Louis". St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  10. Kourlas, Gia (October 18, 2021). "How Fire Shut Up in My Bones Brought a Step to the Met". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  11. Chinen, Nate (September 28, 2021). "Terence Blanchard's Met Opera Debut Is a Singular Achievement and a Shared Success". NPR. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  12. Production details, Lyric Opera of Chicago
  13. "Synopsis: Fire Shut Up in My Bones". metopera.org. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
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