Opera Philadelphia’s Yardbird Opens to a Standing Ovation
Friday night was opening night for Opera Philadelphia’s much-anticipated Charlie Parker’s Yardbird at the Kimmel Center. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee stars as Charlie Parker with soprano Angela Brown, who mesmerizes as his mother, Addie Parker. Baritone Will Liverman makes his debut as jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie. The opera is set in the famed NYC jazz club Birdland. About 100 Opera Philadelphia theatergoers attended the opening night party on the second tier of the Kimmel Center, including Ann Ziff from the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, Mayor Michael Nutter, First Lady Lisa Nutter and several people from the Apollo Theater in NYC, where Yardbird will appear later this year. Guests dined on cuisine from Jose Garces Catering, walked the red carpet, posed for photos and relished in the evening’s show, which concluded with a standing ovation. I wish I could say go see it, but it’s completely sold out.
For best results, view gallery in full-screen mode.
HughE Dillon covers parties, events and more for Philadelphia magazine’s The Scene. You can follow him on Twitter at @iPhillyChitChat and visit his daily online social diary PhillyChitChat.com.