In full circle moment, Angel Blue returns to San Francisco for ‘Il Trovatore’

The Grammy winner is gearing up to perform the lead role of Leonora in the San Francisco Opera production.

Angel Blue rehearses for San Francisco Opera’s “Il Trovatore” in the role of the noblewoman Leonora.

Photo: Courtesy of Cory Weaver

Two-time Grammy winner Angel Blue is set to take center stage in the San Francisco Opera’s upcoming production of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1853 drama “Il Trovatore,” making her role debut as Leonora, the noblewoman who gets caught up in a difficult love triangle.

But the soprano is no stranger to the city or the company — in 2009, she played Clara in the Opera’s production of “Porgy and Bess.” She then starred in the production at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, this time as Bess, from 2019-2020, and earned her first Grammy in 2021 as part of the cast.

Immediately following her run in “Il Trovatore,” the singer is set to perform in “Tosca” at the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna before returning to San Francisco for a three-night stint performing Beethoven’s Ninth with the San Francisco Symphony starting on Oct. 19.

Since her parents took her to see “Turandot,” the opera about a coldhearted but beautiful princess, at just 4 years old, Blue has been mesmerized by the world of opera. Now, at 39, Blue has had the opportunity to travel the world to sing, a privilege she is still awestruck by, despite having been performing in operas most of her life.

Angel Blue, rehearsing the role of Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” for San Francisco Opera, says the biggest challenge in the role has been “getting out of my head. … to really trust what (Verdi has) written on the page and know that he is a legend and that I can trust what he’s written in my voice.”

Photo: Courtesy of Cory Weaver

Even after a recent four-hour rehearsal at the War Memorial Opera House, Blue remained bubbly and charismatic as she reflected upon her operatic journey.

More Information

“Il Trovatore”:San Francisco Opera. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12. Through Oct. 1. $26-$426. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-3330.www.sfopera.com

Fresh out of costume, Blue spoke with the Chronicle about Verdi, Leontyne Price and camaraderie within the world of opera.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What has been the most challenging part of rehearsing this role so far?

A:Getting out of my head. I am now singing Verdi. I know I’ve sung Verdi before, but I’m singing more Verdi. Verdi is very specific.

I like him a lot because I like to know exactly what somebody wants or needs from me, so I’m not guessing. The most challenging thing has just been to sort of get out of my mind as a musician, to really trust what he’s written on the page and know that he is a legend and that I can trust what he’s written in my voice.

Angel Blue said of performing “Il Trovatore” by Giuseppe Verdi, “I like him a lot because I like to know exactly what somebody wants or needs from me, so I’m not guessing.”

Photo: Courtesy of Cory Weaver

Q: What has been the most interesting part for you?

A:My colleagues, I really like them. It sounds simple to say, but it’s a big thing. They’re happy to sing, and you can see that they love what they do. It’s infectious to be around people like that, who are joyful and excited and genuinely excited about what they do.

Out of everything with COVID — forget not getting paid and traveling and all that, that didn’t matter — I missed seeing my colleagues sing. I missed being onstage with other people and watching them breathe and watching how they produce their sounds and listening to their languages and how well they pronounce their words. That’s very special. I don’t take that for granted at all.

天使蓝克拉拉在““乞丐与荡妇””San Francisco Opera in 2009.

Photo: Courtesy of Cory Weaver

Q: I understand you played Clara in “Porgy and Bess.” How has this experience been coming back to this opera house?

A:I feel the same way that I did when I was here for Clara. I was really thankful.

Of course, the weight of what I’m doing now is much different. It’s heavier. Just as important, but it’s just a little heavier. But I’m older, so I can carry it. Whereas before, had I had a role like this here at the age that I was in 2009, I would’ve cracked under the pressure easily. It’s the right time, thankfully.

Q: Did you always know you wanted to be an opera singer?

A:Yeah, I always wanted to sing. My dad and my mom took me to see “Turandot” in concert in Cleveland. When I was a little kid, I was just mesmerized and enamored with all of it. My dad bought Leontyne Price’s “A Program of Song” and then he bought me “God Bless America” and I listened to those religiously. I mean, that was my playlist. That and, like, Mariah Carey and Johnny Gill and maybe New Kids on the Block.

My high school was what really made opera stick. I went to the L.A. County High School for the Arts, and I was around other kids who knew who Maria Callas was. I was around other kids who had heard of Jussi Björling. That was, I think, what really made my love for opera stick because I was around so many like-minded people.

当我在加州大学洛杉矶分校的时候想要得到我的硕士degree, I was also in the Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera. So I had a very unique experience and just felt like I was just immersed with everything opera. I don’t know if I really knew what I was getting into, but I was happy to be there.

In San Francisco Opera’s “Il Trovatore,” Angel Blue makes her debut in the role of Leonora, the noblewoman who gets caught up in a difficult love triangle.

Photo: Courtesy of Cory Weaver

Q: There has been a history of blackface, whitewashing and racism in general within the opera world and I’m wondering, as an opera singer of color, how are you still compelled to join this world?

A:I love what I do. I love to sing, I love opera. Blackface, whitewash, whatever, really simply I just don’t think it has a place today. I don’t think we need that. I’m a plus size, almost 6-foot-tall Black woman. If people can believe that I’m dying of consumption as Mimí or Violetta and they can stay for the opera and be moved in some way, then we’ve done our job.

Reach Zara Irshad:Zara.Irshad@sfchronicle.com

  • Zara Irshad
    Zara Irshad

    Zara Irshad joined The Chronicle as a summer 2023 intern for the Datebook team. She is a recent graduate of UC San Diego, where she studied communications. She previously interned for the San Diego Union-Tribune and wrote for her campus newspaper, the Guardian, where she served as editor-in-chief. Irshad was part of the honors program for her major and double-minored in world literature and film studies.