Premiering Saturday, February 13, at 5pm PST
We're celebrating Valentine's Day weekend with an operatic twist: in recital.
On Saturday, February 13th at 5:00 PM PST, Artist in Residence Russell Thomas welcomes Ashley Faatoalia, Tiffany Townsend, Alaysha Fox and pianist Leonard Hayes to the On Now digital stage for the first episode in our newly revived After Hours series, "Black Love." The four will perform a program of love songs from renowned Black composers, curated by none other than Russell himself.
Tune in below and experience what's sure to be the sweetest renditions of works by H.T. Burleigh, Undine Smith Moore, Margaret Bonds, and more.
Want to learn more about the composers featured in tonight's program? Click here
View tonight's full program by clicking "Read More" below.
After Hours: “Black Love”
Love Let the Wind Cry...How I Adore Thee (Undine Smith Moore; text by Bliss Carmen from a poem by Sappho)
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
“Give Me No Body Without Your Soul” from the opera Blue Steel (William Grant Still; text by Bruce Forsythe)
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
For You There Is No Song (H. Leslie Adams; text by Edna St. Vincent Millay)
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano
Love Rejoices (H. Leslie Adams; text by James Dillet Freeman)
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano
Love Memory (H. Leslie Adams; text by Paul Laurence Dunbar)
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano
Love Response (H. Leslie Adams; text by Paul Laurence Dunbar)
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano
Five Songs of Laurence Hope (H.T. Burleigh; text by Violet Nicolson)
1. Worth While
2. The Jungle Flower
3. Kashmiri Song
4. Among the Fuchsias
5. Till I wake
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
Songs of the Seasons (Margaret Bonds; text by Lankston Hughes)
1. Poème d’Automne
2. Winter Moon
3. Young Love in Spring
4. Summer Storm
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
The Breath of a Rose (William Grant Still; text by Lankston Hughes)
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
Love, Elusive Love (music and text by James H. East)
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
The Heart of a Woman (H. Leslie Adams; text by Georgia Douglas Johnson)
Ashley Faatoalia, tenor; Leonard Hayes, piano
Sence You Went Away (H. Leslie Adams; text by James Weldon Johnson)
Tiffany Townsend, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
I Want to Die While You Love Me (Undine Smith Moore; text by Georgia Douglas Johnson)
Alaysha Fox, soprano; Leonard Hayes, piano
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