longing to tell – a blues opera. Based on the book »Longing to tell« by Tricia Rose

A team of award-winning artists joins forces with Ensemble Resonanz to create a powerful evening exploring Black female intimacy – a night for fans of hip-hop, jazz and classical music alike.

Featuring: akua naru – musician, activist and professor of hip-hop in California – hailed by the press as the »Toni Morrison of hip-hop«. Tyshawn Sorey – celebrated composer, multi-instrumentalist and Pulitzer Prize winner – brings together band and ensemble in a layered, driving musical texture. Under the scenic direction of Anta Helena Recke, akua tells her own version of Tricia Rose’s »Longing to Tell« – stories of Black women, speaking of love and loss, tenderness and violence, intimacy and community.

akua naru, artistic director, vocals & writer
Tyshawn Sorey, artistic director, composition and drums
Journi Sings, vocals
Monique B. Thomas, vocals
Raymond Thompson, vocals
Stephan Kondert, bass
James Gordon Williams, piano
Josiah Woodson, trumpet, guitar & flute
Ensemble Resonanz

Anta Helena Recke, scenic realisation and dramaturgy
Gail Burton, artistic coordinator
JP Bendig, light design
Thomas Wegner, sound design

A co-production by Ensemble Resonanz, International Summer Festival Kampnagel Hamburg, Wien Modern, KölnMusik and Brown University Providence Rhode Island. Developed as part of the Körber Resonanz Lab, a collaboration between Ensemble Resonanz and the Körber Foundation. This platform is dedicated to developing innovative, trans-traditional concert projects performed in European concert halls.