Music Monday featuring The Harlem Opera Theater
Music Monday is a free and open-to-the public monthly concert series taking place in The Forum's ground-floor Atrium.
The September event will be a special performance from The Harlem Opera Theater. More details to-be-announced.
- Edwin Jhamaal Davis, Bass
- Rebecca Hargrove, Soprano
- Gregory H. Hopkins, Artistic Director and accompanist on piano
Program:
Per queste tue manine (Don Giovanne), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ms. Hargrove and Mr. Davis
Ach, ich fuhls (The Magic Flute), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ms. Hargrove
Si la rigueur (La Juive) (Cavatine), Hale'vy
Mr. Davis
Quando m'en vo (La Boheme), Giacomo Puccini
How fair this spot, Sergei Rachmaninoff
Ms. Hargrove
O del mio amato ben, Marques L. A. Garrett
Steal away, arr. Dave Ragland
Mr. Davis
Let us break bread together on our knees, John Carter
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, John Carter
Ms. Hargrove
Nonnes, qui reposez (Robert Le Diable), Giacomo Meyerbeer
Mr. Davis
Finale
Mais Alice, qu'as-tu donc? (Robert Le Diable), Giacomo Meyerbeer
Ms. Hargrove and Mr. Davis
Artist Bios
Praised by opera critic Voce di Meche for his “juicy, booming and room-filling bass” accompanied by “mesmerizing, fully-immersed acting,” basso profondo Edwin Jhamal Davis is quickly establishing himself as an artist on the rise to watch.
This past summer, Edwin joined San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program where he performed Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte as well as excerpts as Banquo in Macbeth. In the current season, he reprises the role of Bass 2 in X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X for Opera Omaha, Masetto in Don Giovanni for Atlanta Opera, joins Opera Grand Rapids as the King in Aida, will perform as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah for Danbury Symphony and make his Carnegie Hall debut in Verdi’s Requiem.
Previous engagements include Bass 2 in X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X for Detroit Opera, Sparafucile in Rigoletto for the Florentine Opera, the bass soloist in What Lies Beneath for On Site Opera, and Uncle Wesley in Night Trip for Portland Opera. He toured with the American Spiritual Ensemble, sang the world premiere of Brother Nat: Rise, Revolt, Redemption in the role of Will at the Boston Paramount theater, and was a featured soloist in the symphonic premiere of Without Regard to Sex, Race or Color, a musical work inspired by the photographic artistry of Andrew Feiler and composed by Doug Hooker, for the National Civil Rights Museum. Edwin also joined Portland Opera as a Resident Artist for the 2020-2021 Season.
He has appeared as guest soloist at various national venues such as Pompano Beach Orchestra's presentation of Handel's Messiah, Bronx Concert Singers’ Winter and Spring presentations, and St. Mark’s presentation of Messiah.
Edwin made his professional debut with the Mississippi Opera Company in the role of Simone in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. He is an alumnus of Jackson State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology Pre-Medicine with dual minors in Chemistry and Music. He received his master’s degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music where he studied with well-acclaimed baritone Mark Oswald and performed Wurm in Verdi's Luisa Miller, Osmin in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and covered Reverend Olin Blitch in Susannah by Carlisle Floyd.
He was crowned the national title for the Marian Anderson Vocal Arts Competition hosted by the National Association of Negro Musicians in its centennial celebration, is a Metropolitan Opera Eastern Region award winner, and become one of the first African Americans to claim one of the top two prizes in Opera Columbus’s Cooper-Bing International voice competition.
Edwin is a proud native of Utica, MS.
Soprano, Rebecca L. Hargrove, is a two-time ‘Best Opera Album’ Grammy Award Winner for her Extra Chorus participation in The Metropolitan Opera’s productions of Porgy & Bess (2020, Gershwin) and Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2022, Blanchard). She was also featured in their 2021 production of Die Meistersinger (Wagner). Last season, Rebecca premiered the roles of Christina and Lydia in Ricky Ian Gordons’s The Garden of the Finzi-Cortini with New York City Opera at The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and Katherine Morgan in the play BROKEN Code BIRD Switching at Berkshire Theater Group. She also starred as Mrs. Myrtle Webb in Our Town at Baltimore Center Stage.
In the 2019-2020 season, Rebecca starred in The New York Times Critic’s Pick Acquanetta as Acquanetta at Bard Summerscape, The Grey Land mono-opera as The Mother at Roulette Intermedium (album available on all streaming platforms), and as Yum-Yum in The Mikado with New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players. Previous engagements include Two Wings: The Music of Black America in Migration with Jason Moran and Alicia Hall-Moran at Carnegie Hall, Evita and Cabin in the Sky at New York City Center, and In the Parlour as Nellie Quander at The National Black Theater.
Along with her creative partner, Kedren Spencer, Rebecca is the co-creator and founder of an independent film production company KSRH Productions LLC. Their first short film, Last Call will make its world premiere at The Los Angeles Black Film Festival. Follow her updates at www.RebeccaLHargrove.com and on Instagram @RebeccaLHargrove and @LastCall.TheFilm.
Gregory Hopkins was born and reared in Philadelphia, PA. He received his advanced education in voice from Temple University, and in opera from Curtis Institute of Music. Hopkins has won prizes in competitions including: The Verdi Prize in Busetto, Italy; Outstanding Tenor Award, Mantova, Italy; The Dealy Award and The Opera Index Grant.
As a singer, pianist, organist, choral conductor, teacher and clinician, Hopkins has traveled throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and The Middle East, with recent performances including The Cervantes and Pitic Festivals (Mexico); Orvieto, Rome and Umbria Festivals (Italy); Vienne Festival (France) and Vitoria-Gasteiz Festival (Spain). Additional performances included Mozarteum (San Juan, Argentina); Teatro Mayor (Bogota, Columbia); Sodre (Montevideo, Uruguay); Pro Arte (Cordoba, Argentina). His Harlem Jubilee singers recently completed a tour of Chile with the Concepcion Symphony performing Porgy and Bess. He also conducted performances of Gershwin’s “Blue Monday”, Britten’s “The Burning Fiery Furnace” with Harlem Opera Theater and HL Freeman’s opera “Voodoo”. Earlier this year saw concerts in Argentina and Japan. Recently Hopkins has been contracted to provide and prepare singers for Martina Arroyo’s “Prelude to a Performance” and Alvin Ailey’s “Revelation” Celebration at Lincoln Center. Hopkins has served The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses as Director of Performance Ministries; The Hampton University Minister's Conference as Recital Co-Coordinator; and Gospel Music Workshop of America as Assistant Music Director to the Men's Department. He has been honored three times to prepare and present musicals for the National Baptist Convention, and was musical director for the NAACP's Centennial Celebration. At Arkansas Baptist College's EC Morris Institute and Ithaca College he has been Choral Clinician. For the Million Man March he was selected by Minister Farrakhan to sing immediately following the address.
Equally occupied as an educator, he has served on the faculties of: Community College of Philadelphia; Morgan State University; Westminster Choir College and NY Seminary of the East. Currently, he is Coordinator of Classical Voice and Operatic Activities at Howard University DC.
For more than 1/3rd of a century he has been Minister of Music for Harlem's Convent Avenue Baptist Church. He is also Artistic Director for Harlem Opera Theater, Music Director for the Harlem Jubilee Singers and Cocolo Japanese Gospel Choir.
He is a featured artist on more than 6 commercially released CD projects; one of which was nominated for a Grammy