Generally at Historycal Roots we aim to bring forgotten Black history to light, last night it felt a little bit more like we were involved in making it. That is probably an exaggeration but attending ‘Prelude – Voices Of Black Opera’ did feel a bit like history in the making.
Our involvement with VOBO came about by accident when it turned out that our neighbour from only three doors away is the leading light in The Black British Classical Foundation (this is London where actually speaking to your neighbours is a bit of a rarity!). We were pleased to play a (very) small part in helping Vincent Osborne with the organisation of the concert at the prestigious St John’s, Smith Square.
The concert featured arias and duets from a number of well known operas by the likes of Verdi and Puccini and closed with several negro spirituals. One of the encore pieces (I regret I didn’t catch what it was) was really, spine tingly beautiful. Anyone who likes opera would have loved this event, the singing was magnificent throughout.
You can find out more about Vincent’s work at https://www.bbcf.uk