MetLiveArts presents

Digital Premiere

A Dream Deferred: Langston Hughes in Song

In this MetLiveArts digital premiere—a New York Times Critic’s Pick when first presented in 2018—powerful and incisive poems by Langston Hughes are set to music in a recital curated by soprano Julia Bullock. She is joined by John Arida (piano), Nicole Cabell (soprano), Ricky Ian Gordon (piano and composition), Anthony McGill (clarinet), Jessie Montgomery (violin and composition), John Musto (piano and composition), Davóne Tines (bass-baritone), and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

Said the Times: “Presiding with warm serenity over her small onstage family … Ms. Bullock brought together spoken texts, instrumental selections and songs, delivered by her and others. Her dusky voice, … breathed both humanity and epic grace into the music.”

Julia Bullock is an American classical singer who “communicates intense, authentic feeling, as if she were singing right from her soul” (Opera News). Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, she has headlined productions and concerts at preeminent arts institutions around the world. An innovative curator in high demand from a diverse group of arts presenters, museums and schools, her notable positions have included collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen at the San Francisco Symphony, 2020–22 Artist-in-Residence of London’s Guildhall School, 2019-20 Artist-in-Residence of the San Francisco Symphony, and 2018-19 Artist-in-Residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bullock is also a prominent voice of social consciousness and activism. As Vanity Fair notes, she is “young, highly successful, [and] politically engaged,” with the “ability to inject each note she sings with a sense of grace and urgency, lending her performances the feel of being both of the moment and incredibly timeless.” Honored as a 2021 Artist of the Year and “agent of change” by Musical America, Bullock gave a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert in NPR Music’s special quarantine edition of the series in December 2020; NPR’s Tom Huizenga characterized it as “among the most transcendent musical moments I’ve experienced this year.”

Watch this free presentation on Facebook or YouTube.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 7:00pm