Joe Louis was one of the world’s greatest boxers in the 1930s and 1940s, an era of worry and war. He gave the American people more than just fights — he gave them a hero.
When Shadowboxer: An Opera Based on the Life of Joe Louis premieres at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Saturday night, its creators hope it will bring Louis’ story to life like never before.
The longtime brainchild of director Leon Major, librettist John Chenault and composer Frank Proto, Shadowboxer uses music, speech and movement to narrate the boxer’s story. The opera’s creators say it is a story not just about Louis’ sport but also what he represented.
Carmen Balthrop, a music professor and inaugural member of the university’s Alumni Hall of Fame, portrays Louis’ mother, Lillie Brooks.
“I think what music does to Joe’s story is that it puts it in a mystical realm. Music makes you pay attention to it in a different way,” Balthrop said. “It becomes an epic story.”
Balthrop cited Louis’ celebrated boxing career, his military career and his personal triumphs and tragedies as reasons for Major, Chenault and Proto’s interest in the project, which Major had been thinking about for many years.
“It’s a true story, and it’s worth knowing about this individual and his impact,” she said.
However, there is more to Shadowboxer than just boxing. The opera promises to straddle musical genres with an onstage jazz band and a 12-member chorus in addition to the cast.
“You have something for everybody, no matter what your tastes may be,” Balthrop said.
Much of Shadowboxer‘s cast is comprised of graduate students acting in the show to complete part of their curriculum.
“They’re supposed to have a project as a completion of their master’s degree. Their project happens to be a world premiere opera. It’s kind of like in a lottery — you won,” Balthrop said.
She added that Major “infuse[d] what professionals do” into the students’ learning experience, which included training with the Terps Club Boxing Team.
Balthrop has high hopes for the future of Shadowboxer.
“I do believe that this opera will grow legs, and it will be picked up, and it will be done — by major opera companies — especially in the United States,” she said. Mentioning Louis’ rivalry with German boxer Max Schmeling prior to World War II, she said the opera “would work well in the European venue,” as well.
But for now, all eyes are on the stage of the Ina and Jack Kay Theatre in CSPAC. The master’s students in the opera have had a chance to research the characters, work with a living composer and put their own spin on the first ever performances of this opera.
“To be on stage with them one evening and then the next morning to be teaching them in class — there’s nothing like that,” Balthrop said. “My expectation, as it should be, is that every one of these students will excel [beyond] anything I’ve ever done.”
While the story is one about a man with a rich history — a black hero in the most unlikely of times — and the show is making its world premiere, Balthrop thought of one more important reason for students to see Shadowboxer.
“These are their peers,” she said. “That is why they should want to come see it. They need to see what their peers are doing in this area.”
Shadowboxer: An Opera Based on the Life of Joe Louis premieres at the Ina and Jack Kay Theatre at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center April 17 and runs through April 25. Student tickets are $9, and non-student tickets are $32.
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