Day 212- Summer King- Baseball and Opera- Josh Gibson Story is a Homerun/Vocals a Single

  

Summer King is a Pittsburgh premier original opera* which tells the story about baseball power hitter, Josh Gibson, who in 1975 was the second player from the Negro League to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I have seen the Pittsburgh Opera several times (see Day 134-Nabucco and Day 174-Salome)  but this show was a unique experience.  It is an opera about our city and a man whose hall of fame plaque states that he hit "almost 800 home runs in league and independent baseball during his 17-year career" but he never made it to the Major Leagues because of color.  This is a story that needs to be told and a “hit out of the park” as an innovating Pittsburgh Opera!    

* Music by Daniel Sonenberg, Libretto by Daniel Sonenberg, Daniel Nester and Mark Campbell 

Day 174-Salome, Pittsburgh Opera-regretful lust

When I ask most of my friends to go to the opera I often get a polite, “no thank you. ”   I would like to point out that  opera is all about the overall experience and this blog is about the overall experience of trying new things  especially in the midst of a life change (see Day 143).   I say go for the hyped up  experience of the opera with the symphony, singing, dancing, extravagant sets, costumes, and drama.

 You really don’t have to follow every detail of the story to understand what the show is trying to convey.  Pittsburgh Opera's   Salome,  is all about uncontrolled lust and desire fueling one to behave in an unusual or in a bizarre manner.  We all have performed  regretful acts birthed from something that we think that we need or must have!