As the Gospel of Matthew tells it, a group of wise men, the magi, saw a star heralding the birth of Christ and set out to find the newborn child. The Nativity story has grown over the last 2,000 years, and now the Three Wise Men, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, are well-known figures around Christmastime. They also hold special significance in New Orleans as Carnival season kicks off on Jan. 6, also known as King’s Day.
Today, those Three Kings have names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, who tradition often depicts as a man with dark skin. And in composer Margaret Bonds’ “The Ballad of the Brown King,” Balthasar and his African heritage are highlighted during his journey to find the baby Jesus.
OperaCreole, which focuses on classical music composed by people of color, will host a performance of “The Ballad of the Brown King” on Saturday, Dec. 13, with a visit from King Balthasar for the kids in the crowd.
“My thought about it was he was following the star but then looked over and saw a constellation that looked like a king cake and got curious,” OperaCreole founder Givonna Joseph says with a laugh.
Following the performance, which runs about 30 minutes, the family-friendly event at The New Marigny Theater will include a children’s tea party, with food by Messina’s, and more music by Plessy Strings, a group made up of students at Homer Plessy Community School. Journalist and longtime WDSU anchor Norman Robinson will play King Balthasar during the tea party.
The event also is a fundraiser for OperaCreole’s educational programs.
Bonds, a ground-breaking Black American composer and pianist, composed “The Ballad of the Brown King” in the early ’50s and turned to her frequent collaborator Langston Hughes, the poet and playwright, to write the lyrics.
The cantata tells the Nativity story but centers King Balthasar as he and his fellow Wise Men follow the star toward mother and child. There also are songs that ask who the “Brown King” was and where he may have come from.
“The Ballad of the Brown King” premiered in 1954, and Bonds and Hughes later expanded it for a televised event in 1960.
OperaCreole founders Givonna Joseph and Aria Mason
It’s “very beautiful, very lush,” Joseph says. “Sometimes it has some jazzy elements in the rhythmic aspects, and sometimes it’s serious and lyrical and other times it’s fast and fun.”
OperaCreole’s performance will include soloists William Alber, Sakinah Davis, Valencia Pleasant, Taylor White and more. There also is a chorus made up of 10 vocalists. Steven Edwards will conduct, and pianist Anna Briscoe is a featured performer.
The Dec. 13 event was the brainchild of Joseph’s daughter and OperaCreole co-founder Aria Mason, Joseph says.
“She’s always loved the piece, and she has always wanted to do something with children for Christmas,” Joseph adds. “In particular, she wanted to do something that would speak to African-American kids.”
Joseph says she hopes the show teaches children about discovering their purpose.
“One of the things I like as a message to young kids is: You too were born to be someone special. You have a reason for being here in this world. You have to find why you were born, and there’s something special that you also have come here to do,” she says.
“The Ballad of the Brown King” starts at 2 p.m. Tickets are $75 for adults and $35 for kids. Find more information at operacreole.org.