Approaching Ali

Approaching Ali
Approaching Ali
Opera by D. J. Sparr
Librettist	Mark Campbell and Davis Miller
Based on	The Tao of Muhammad Ali; by Davis Miller
Premiere	June 8, 2013; Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

Approaching Ali is an opera by composer D. J. Sparr and librettists Mark Campbell and Davis Miller. The inspiration for the opera comes from Miller's story "My Dinner With Ali" and his books The Tao of Muhammad Ali and "Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts" that relate the life-transforming friendship of the writer with the boxer Muhammad Ali.[1][2]

(opera)

Approaching Ali: A Chamber Opera in One Act had its world premiere at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2013, under the directorship of Nicole A. Watson. The opera was commissioned by Washington National Opera.[3] In 2015, the opera was staged by North Carolina Opera.[4] In March 2023, the opera received its American west coast premiere in a production staged by Opera Las Vegas. In March and April 2023, the opera was staged by Opera Louisiane.

(book)

"Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts" is a critically acclaimed literary memoir of Davis Miller's life-transforming friendship with Muhammad Ali. The book was published in 2016 in the United States and the United Kingdom by W. W. Norton/Liveright.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, June 8, 2013 Conductor: Steven Jarvi
Davis Miller	baritone	David Kravitz
Muhammad Ali	bass	Soloman Howard
Odessa Clay	soprano	Aundi Moore
Young Davis	boy soprano	Ethan McKelvain
Roy Miller	tenor	Tim Augustin
Sara Miller	mezzo-soprano	Catherine Martin

Synopsis

The story is about a terribly sad boy in North Carolina in the early 1960s who is galvanized to overcome devastating childhood events when he sees Muhammad Ali on television. More than twenty years later, as a struggling writer on the brink of middle age, he now seeks to rekindle that spirit by visiting his boyhood hero in person at his mother's home in Louisville, Kentucky.

References

Schweitzer, Vivien (June 10, 2013). "New Ring For Legend Of Boxing: Opera Stage". The New York Times.
Neal, Dale (November 27, 2015). "Asheville man writes of relationship with Ali". Asheville Citizen-Times.
Anne Midgette (June 7, 2013). "Approaching Ali, the second stage of WNO's effort to foster new American opera". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
Vitiello, Chris (January 28, 2015). "With Approaching Ali, the story of how the boxer inspired a struggling writer, the North Carolina Opera fights above its weight class". The Independent Weekly.

External links

Approaching Ali, djsparr.com

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[1] Schweitzer, Vivien (June 10, 2013). "New Ring For Legend Of Boxing: Opera Stage". The New York Times.

[2] Neal, Dale (November 27, 2015). "Asheville man writes of relationship with Ali". Asheville Citizen-Times.

[WaPo-3] Anne Midgette (June 7, 2013). "Approaching Ali, the second stage of WNO's effort to foster new American opera". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2019.

[4] Vitiello, Chris (January 28, 2015). "With Approaching Ali, the story of how the boxer inspired a struggling writer, the North Carolina Opera fights above its weight class". The Independent Weekly.