Saturday, February 27, 2016I
What if a high school student doing a report on a historic opera star had the singer appear to him?
Radford High School students got to explore that possibility on Thursday through a performance by the Virginia Opera Company. The company is celebrating Black History Month with the world-premiere performance of “Deep River: The Marian Anderson Story” at schools across the commonwealth, according to the company’s website. The piece stars Taylor Raven as Anderson and Andre Peele as Thomas, the modern-day high school student visited by Anderson’s spirit. Anderson rose to fame among the world’s greatest concert artists, in spite of the widespread racial prejudice of the day; and in so doing, she became an important figure in the struggle for civil rights. This was the first ever “opera assembly” in Radford schools. It and similar performances are offered through the Virginia company’s in-school touring program. The program offers discounted performances for schools and organizations through grants and partnerships, according to the company’s website. www.vaopera.org 1-866-OPERAVA (1-866-673-7282)