longing to tell – a blues opera

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 Direction & Voice
Tyshawn Sorey, Artistic Direction, Composition & Drums
Anta Helena Recke, Stage Direction
Monique B. Thomas, Vocals
Raymond Thompson, Vocals
Journi Sings, Vocals
Stephan Kondert, Bass
James Gordon Williams, Piano
Josiah Woodson, Trumpet
Ensemble Resonanz

A co-production by Ensemble Resonanz, 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.