Champion
April 10-May 13, 2023
The Metropolitan Opera
“When Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones opened the Met’s 2021–22 season to universal acclaim, it marked a historic moment in the annals of the company. Now, the six-time Grammy Award–winning composer’s operatic retelling of the dramatic story of boxer Emile Griffith arrives in New York. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green stars as the closeted young hatmaker-turned-prizefighter, who rises from obscurity to become world champion and, in one of the great tragedies in sports history, kills his homophobic archrival in the ring. Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a stellar cast that also features bass-baritone Eric Owens as Griffith’s older self, haunted by the ghosts of his past. Soprano Latonia Moore is Emelda Griffith, the boxer’s estranged mother, alongside mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as bar owner Kathy Hagen. Director James Robinson—whose productions of Fire and Porgy and Bess brought down the house—oversees the staging, and Camille A. Brown, whose choreography electrified audiences in Fire and Porgy, also returns.”
Choreography: Camille A. Brown
Associate Choreographer: Rickey Tripp
Assistant Choreographer: Maleek Washington
PRESS
“The striking energy of Camille A. Brown’s choreography, which was so crucial to “Fire” that she was designated its co-director, is folded more organically into the scenes in “Champion.” But here she conjures visions no less memorable than the showstopping step dance of “Fire”: a raucous carnival in St. Thomas, an explosively macho boxing gym, gay bar encounters that radiate some genuine heat.”
-The New York Times
“ director James Robinson and Camile A. Brown bring “Champion” to life with a mesmerizing production.”
-Opera Wire
“Choreographer Brown contributed to the action at other points, the most memorable being a troupe of male dancers in boxing shorts and gloves, who mastered the boxer’s wary crouch and lightning jabs.”
- New York Classical Review
“athletic, sexy choreography by Camille A. Brown”
- Theater Mania
“…Camille A Brown’s choreography made every scene meaningful, often very entertaining and led the performance ably….”
-The Financial Times
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The Lyric Opera of Chicago
January 27-February 11, 2024
Lyric Opera House
Chicago, IL 60606
Choreography: Camille A. Brown
Associate Choreographer: Christopher Jackson
PRESS
“Choreographer Camille A. Brown’s dance numbers transfixed the eye and integrated perfectly with the stage action, whether Carnival revelers in the USVI, title card girls in the boxing ring, bar patrons at Hagan’s Hole, boxers in training scenes, and in a variety of other settings. Opera largely forgot dance after Parisian ballets disappeared, and it could use a lot more. If you’ve spied Brown in the lobby, you’ll also know she conclusively wins the red carpet.”
-Opera Wire