Éclat Opéra promises dazzling production

Excitement is mounting among classical music enthusiasts in Jamaica for the Éclat Opéra concert, scheduled for November 16 to 17 at the Little Theatre in St Andrew. The event will be headlined by The Concert Chorale of Harlem (TCCH), an American opera musical group, and will feature Jamaica’s leading classical ensemble, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jamaica (POJ). The organisers promise a dazzling production that lives up to the French meaning of the event’s title.

The Éclat Opéra two-part concert series will present an inspiring mix of arias and beloved classics from renowned composers like Verdi, Puccini, and Donizetti. The programme will also include modern works by Gershwin and Bernstein, alongside compositions by leading Jamaican composers. Classical music fans can look forward to a blend of Broadway, jazz, classical favourites, and spiritual music.

The concert will feature three-time Grammy-winning American tenor Chauncey Packer, two-time Grammy nominee soprano Laquita Mitchell, baritone and actor Clayton G Williams, soprano Olanna Goudeau, and conductor Dr Tyrone Clinton Jr.

“An opera concert with such high-calibre opera singers backed by a full orchestra is a rare occurrence in Jamaica, and music lovers should not miss this special treat,” said Andrew Ho, executive chairman of the POJ.

TCCH Inc is a performing arts organisation of classically trained musicians, dedicated to enriching the community through music and educating global audiences and consists of fourteen Black opera singers, some of whom have performed with the Metropolitan Opera, and are graduates from prestigious institutions like Julliard School and Manhattan School of Music and trained with prominent voice professors within the United States.

Members of the group have individually performed in the world’s most renowned venues, like the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and Houston Grand Opera, to name a few, and was founded by music director, Rodari Simpson, a Jamaican-born tenor singer now based in New York.

Simpson noted that: “This visit means so much to us as we share the joys of classical music and the art of opera with Jamaican audiences. It’s also an opportunity to showcase Jamaican and Caribbean talent which I have always felt has a special vibrancy.”

The POJ is led by popular conductor and music director Franklin Halliburton who will share the baton with the TCCH’s conductor Dr Tyrone Clinton Jr.

Clinton Jr, a Brooklyn native, has extensive experience in conducting, singing, and academia. He has collaborated with the New York Philharmonic on several performances and is the founder of Unsung Collective, a non-profit dedicated to celebrating people of colour in Western art music in New York City.

According to Halliburton, “We are thrilled to be collaborating with this distinguished group of classical opera singers from New York, and I am particularly pleased that they will be performing an original choral work created by one of our local composers. I am sure that the performance will leave the audience spellbound.”