{{Short description|American singer (born 1984)}} {{For|the song by Green Day|¡Uno!}} {{mi| {{BLP sources|date=February 2023}} {{Advert|date=October 2024}} }} {{use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{infobox person |name = Angel Blue |image = Angel Blue backstage at Wigmore Hall.jpg |caption = Blue in London in 2013 |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|5|3|mf=y}} |birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. |education = University of Redlands (BM)<br>University of California, Los Angeles (MM) |occupation = Opera singer (soprano) |website = {{URL|https://angeljoyblue.com/}} }}
'''Angel Joy Blue''' (born May 3, 1984) is an American soprano. She won the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for the Metropolitan Opera production of ''Porgy and Bess'' in the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.<ref name="Angel Blue">{{Cite web|date=2021-02-09|title=Angel Blue|url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/angel-blue/287143|access-date=2021-03-14|website=GRAMMY.com}}</ref>
Her voice has been recognized for its shining and agile upper register, "smoky" middle register, beautiful timbre,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plácido Domingo Festival |url=http://www.placidodomingofestival.com/ |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=Plácido Domingo Festival}}</ref> and ability to switch from a classical to a contemporary sound. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards including a Grammy Award, Operalia and Miss Hollywood. According to family lore, when she was born her father, Sylvester, predicted that she would be "the next Leontyne Price".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Winer |first=Laurie |date=6 April 2008 |title=Soaring Soprano|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-apr-06-tm-soprano6-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=1 August 2022}}</ref>
== Education == Blue earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Redlands in 2005, and a Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from UCLA<ref name="autogenerated1"/> in 2007. She is an alumna of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where she studied voice and classical piano. She was a member of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera from 2007 to 2009. Blue was a member of Artistas de la Academia del Palau de les Arts from 2009 to 2010, under Maestros Alberto Zedda, Lorin Maazel, and Zubin Mehta.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blackvoicenews.com/2010/02/11/angel-blue-returns-to-area-smashing-success-with-philharmonic/|title=Angel Blue, Returns to Area, Smashing Success with Philharmonic|author1=Paulette Brown-Hinds|author2=Cheryl Brown|website=Black Voice News|date=11 February 2010|access-date=31 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708013050/http://www.blackvoicenews.com/community/riverside/43995-angel-blue-returns-to-area-smashing-success-with-philharmonic.html|archive-date=2011-07-08|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Pageants == Blue is a former model and beauty queen. She was the first African-American to hold the title of Miss Apple Valley, California.<ref name=operawire>{{cite web|url=https://operawire.com/artist-of-the-week-discovering-the-art-of-angel-joy-blue/|title=Artist of the Week: Discovering the Art of Angel Joy Blue|author=Francisco Salazar|work=OperaWire|date=February 6, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2023}}</ref> She was crowned Miss Hollywood in 2005, and she was 2nd runner up at the Miss California contest that same year.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090119192458/http://misshollywood.com/record.html "Our Titleholders at Miss California"], misshollywood.com</ref> Blue was the 1st runner up to both Miss California in 2006 and Miss Nevada in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.misshollywood.com/titleholders.php |title=current and former titleholders|publisher=Southern California Scholarship Association|department=Miss Hollywood Scholarship Pageant |access-date=2009-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221124033/http://misshollywood.com/titleholders.php |archive-date=2009-02-21 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
== Career == [[File:Plácido Domingo (8).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Blue (right), Plácido Domingo (center) in 2016]] Blue has performed lead roles and as a featured soloist at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Colburn School, Royce Hall, the Staples Center, Theater an der Wien, Frankfurt Opera, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Israeli Philharmonic, Auditorio Nacional de Música, and Seoul Arts Center.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url= http://www.music.ucla.edu/blog/2008/04/08/ucla-music-student-angel-blue-rising-young-star-at-la-opera-la-times-article-april-6-2008/ |title= UCLA music student Angel Blue–rising young star at L.A. Opera. L.A. Times article April 6, 2008 | music @ UCLA |publisher= Music.ucla.edu |date= |access-date= 2017-10-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171003125821/https://www.music.ucla.edu/blog/2008/04/08/ucla-music-student-angel-blue-rising-young-star-at-la-opera-la-times-article-april-6-2008/ |archive-date= October 3, 2017 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="latimes1">{{cite web |url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/08/russians-take-top-prizes-at-domingos-operalia-contest.html |title= Russians take top prizes at Domingo's Operalia contest|work=Los Angeles Times|date= 2009-08-06 |access-date= 2017-10-03}}</ref>
Her operatic repertoire includes Violetta ''(La traviata)'', Musetta and Mimì ''(La bohème)'', Micaëla ''(Carmen)'', Lucia ''(Lucia di Lammermoor)'', Helena ''(A Midsummer Night's Dream)'', Liu ''(Turandot)'', Manon ''(Manon)'', Contessa Almaviva ''(Le nozze di Figaro)'', Giulietta and Antonia ''(The Tales of Hoffmann)'', Dido ''(Dido and Aeneas)'', and Donna Elvira ''(Don Giovanni)''.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Blue has sung the national anthem for the Border Governors Conference, hosted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and for The Women's Conference| in California, hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.californiawomen.org/speakers |title=WE Lead – The Women's Conference |publisher=Californiawomen.org |date=2008-10-26 |access-date=2017-10-03}}</ref>
In the 2008–2009 season, Blue made her debut with the San Francisco Opera as Clara in ''Porgy and Bess''; she was the featured soloist with the Valdosta Symphony in Valdosta, Georgia, where she sang the soprano role in Arthur Honegger's ''King David''; and she performed scenes from ''La traviata'' (Violetta) with the Korean Symphony Orchestra Germany in Seoul and Busan, Korea. In the 2009–2010 season, she was a featured soloist with the Riverside Philharmonic; the Adrian Symphony in Adrian, Michigan; Giro Italia tour with Alberto Zedda throughout Italy; Madrilenos por Haiti concert with La Orquesta Clasica de Espana in Madrid; A Gala Evening with Thomas Hampson in Budapest, Hungary; and she made her debut at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía as Micaëla in ''Carmen'', opposite Marcelo Álvarez and Elīna Garanča, conducted by Zubin Mehta.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
Throughout the 2010/11 season, Blue enjoyed engagements with the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain; the American Youth Symphony; the Redlands Symphony; and the Theatre an der Wien in Vienna, Austria where she sang the role of Giulietta in the ''Tales of Hoffmann'' directed by Oscar-winning director William Friedkin. She began touring with Plácido Domingo in 2011 opening the Kaufmann Center in Kansas City, Missouri; the Royal Opera House Muscat, Oman, and concerts in Beijing, China, as well as Zagreb, Croatia. In 2020 she sang Bess in ''Porgy and Bess'' with the Metropolitan Opera in New York for their first performance of that opera in 30 years.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
Blue was a finalist in Operalia 2009, receiving 1st place in the Zarzuela competition, and 2nd place in the Opera competition. In July 2010, Blue was honored to be a part of the 17th Annual Verbier Festival in Switzerland, where she sang in an "Operalia Tribute" Concert sponsored by Rolex. She has also received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, A.E.I.O.U Italian Educators Vocal Competition, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion's Emerging Young Entertainers Award, and the Redlands Bowl Competition.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
In upcoming seasons Blue revisits Clara in ''Porgy and Bess'' in concert with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle; returns to the Frankfurt Opera as the Third Norn in Richard Wagner's ''Götterdämmerung''; and performs Musetta, ''La bohème'', for the English National Opera. Concert performances will take place in Europe, including ''Carmina Burana'' at the Maggio Musicale with Zubin Mehta, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Munich Philharmonic, Verdi's Greatest Hits concert with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Verdi Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and the release of her first solo album with British pianist Iain Burnside. She was the only soloist invited to sing for the American Friends of the Israeli Philharmonic in a Tribute Concert to honor the film composer Hans Zimmer.
In the United Kingdom, she appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in 2013, in the title role of Olga Neuwirth's ''American Lulu'', an interpretation of Alban Berg's unfinished opera ''Lulu''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/01/american-lulu-review |title=American Lulu- Review |newspaper=The Guardian|date=September 2013 |last1=Molleson |first1=Kate }}</ref> Also that year, she played ''Musetta'' in La bohème at the English National Opera<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/30/la-boheme-review |title=La Bohème Review |newspaper=The Guardian|date=April 30, 2013 |last1=Ashley |first1=Tim }}</ref> and appeared as ''Mimì'' the following year.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/la-boheme-review |title=La Bohème Review |newspaper=The Guardian|date=October 30, 2014 |last1=Jeal |first1=Erica }}</ref>
Blue was featured on Melvyn Bragg's documentary series, the South Bank Show, which aired on Sky Arts on June 19, 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/how-the-women-in-melvyn-braggs-life-have-haunted-his-conscience-but-helped-him-with-the-dark-times/31380171.html |title=How the women in Melvyn Bragg's life have haunted his conscience but helped him with the dark times |website= belfasttelegraph.co.uk|date=July 16, 2015 }}</ref> Blue has been a favorite in magazines such as ''The Times'', ''TimeOut'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', and on BBC Radio 3’s ''InTune'' with Sean Rafferty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001b5kh |title=In Tune: Angel Blue, Mariam Batsashvili |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
She was the guest judge for the BBC Choir Competition of the Year final in December 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/classical-christmas |title=Star guests, spectacular Proms and festive music in the BBC classical line-up for Christmas |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
In 2015 she co-hosted the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition with Petroc Trelawny,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0607fdx |title=Cardiff Singer of the World |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> and the BBC broadcast of Prom 13 (Holst, Boulez) at the Royal Albert Hall, also with Trelawny.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
She made her Metropolitan Opera début in 2017 as Mimì in ''La bohème''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/arts/music/la-boheme-review-zeffirelli-met-opera.html|access-date=February 15, 2023|title=Review: ''La bohème'' at the Met Is Grand, Reviled and Beloved|author=James R. Oestreich|date=October 3, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
She was supposed to perform ''Knoxville: Summer of 1915'' by Samuel Barber and "This Is Not a Small Voice" by Valerie Coleman as part of BBC Proms on 8 September 2022, but the performance was cancelled due to the death of Elizabeth II (thus ''de facto'' ending the 2022 Prom season on September 8, 2022).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qze4919vno|title= Soprano Angel Blue charms Last Night of the Proms audience |website=bbc.co.uk|date= September 14, 2024 }}</ref>
In September 2024, Blue appeared at the Last Night of the Proms, performing two opera excerpts by Puccini: Gianni Schicchi – ''O mio babbino caro'' and Tosca – ''Vissi d’arte''. She also performed two spirituals with the pianist Stephen Hough, and the aria ''Al pensar en el dueño de mis amores'' from the operetta ''Las hijas del Zebedeo'', by Ruperto Chapí, as well as ''Rule Britannia'' by Thomas Arne.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qze4919vno|title= Soprano Angel Blue charms Last Night of the Proms audience |website=bbc.co.uk|date= September 14, 2024 }}</ref>
In May 2025, Blue sang the national anthem accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra at the 2025 National Memorial Day Concert.
==Repertoire== ===Opera=== {{Cleanup list|date=December 2022|reason=This should only list role premieres.}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Role ! Opera ! Location ! Composer |- | rowspan="3" | 2015 | Musetta | ''La bohème'' | Teatro alla Scala | Giacomo Puccini |- | Myrtle Wilson | ''The Great Gatsby'' | Semperoper | John Harbison |- | Mimì | ''La bohème'' | Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía | Giacomo Puccini |- | rowspan="3" | 2016 | Clara | ''Porgy and Bess'' | Teatro alla Scala | George Gershwin |- | Helena | ''Mefistofele'' | Baden-Baden | Arrigo Boito |- | Mimì | ''La bohème'' | Semperoper | Giacomo Puccini |- | rowspan="4" | 2017 | Mimì | ''La bohème'' | Metropolitan Opera | Giacomo Puccini |- | Mimi | ''La bohème'' | Semperoper | Giacomo Puccini |- | Myrtle Wilson | ''The Great Gatsby'' | Semperoper | John Harbison |- | Violetta | ''La traviata'' | Seattle Opera | Giuseppe Verdi |- | rowspan="5" | 2018 | Musetta | ''La bohème'' | Metropolitan Opera | Giacomo Puccini |- | Bess | ''Porgy and Bess'' | Seattle Opera | George Gershwin |- | Marguerite | ''Faust (opera)'' | Portland Opera | Charles Gounod |- | Violetta | ''La traviata'' | Manitoba Opera | Giuseppe Verdi |- | Liu | ''Turandot'' | San Diego Opera | Giacomo Puccini |- | rowspan="6" | 2019 | Mimì | ''La bohème'' | Hamburg State Opera | Giacomo Puccini |- | Tosca | ''Tosca'' | Aix-en-Provence Festival | Giacomo Puccini |- | Mimì | ''La bohème'' | Canadian Opera Company | Giacomo Puccini |- | Violetta | ''La traviata'' | Teatro alla Scala | Giuseppe Verdi |- | Bess | ''Porgy and Bess'' | Metropolitan Opera | George Gershwin |- | Violetta | ''La traviata'' | Royal Opera House | Giuseppe Verdi |- | 2020 | Bess | ''Porgy and Bess'' | Metropolitan Opera | George Gershwin |- | rowspan="2" | 2021 | Destiny/Greta/Loneliness | ''Fire Shut Up in My Bones'' | Metropolitan Opera | Terence Blanchard |- | Bess | ''Porgy and Bess'' | Metropolitan Opera | George Gershwin |- | rowspan="2" | 2022 | Violetta | ''La traviata'' | Royal Opera House | Giuseppe Verdi |- | Violetta | ''La traviata'' | Houston Grand Opera | Giuseppe Verdi |- |}
===Concerts=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Date ! Event ! Location ! City |- | October 17, 2018 | A Walt Whitman Sampler Concert | American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall | New York |- | November 9, 10, 2018 | One City: Beethoven 9 | | Cincinnati, Ohio |- | December 15, 2018 | United Nations Ambassadors' Ball | Metropolitan Club | New York |- | December 19, 2018 | Angel Blue in Recital | Terrace Theater | Washington, D.C. |- | August 8, 2019 | Ravinia Festival | Martin Theatre | Highland Park, Illinois |- | October 27, 2019 | 2019 Richard Tucker Gala | Carnegie Hall | New York |- | January 26, 2020 | The Titus Art Song Recital Series | Moody Performance Hall | Dallas, Texas |- | March 5, 6, 7, 2020 | Porgy and Bess in Concert | Verizon Hall | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |- | April 25, 2020 | At-Home Gala | Metropolitan Opera | New York |- | May 28, 2020 | Songs of Summer: An Online Recital Series | Seattle Opera | Lebanon, New Hampshire |- | July 28, 2021 | Masterclass with Angel Blue | Opera North | Lebanon, New Hampshire |- | August 7, 2021 | Angel Blue in Concert | Santa Fe Opera | Santa Fe, New Mexico |- | February 3, 4, 5, 2022 | Angel Blue sings Barber | Verizon Hall | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |- | February 8, 2022 | The Philadelphia Orchestra | Carnegie Hall | New York |- | February 21, 2022 | Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) | Carnegie Hall | New York |- | March 6, 2022 | Angel Blue in Recital | Cal Performances | Berkeley, California |- |December 30, 2022 |Aida in Concert |Detroit Opera |Detroit, Michigan |- |}
===News=== {{Cleanup list|date=December 2022|reason=If substantial, these should be listed in 'External links'.}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Date ! Publisher ! Link |- | August 6, 2021 | ''The Santa Fe New Mexican'' | [https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/opera/soprano-angel-blue-promises-to-soar-in-santa-fe/article_06e1bb94-ecac-11eb-ba81-1776e8fa83a0.html Soprano Angel Blue promises to soar in Santa Fe] |- | February 7, 2022 | ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' | [https://www.inquirer.com/arts/valerie-coleman-angel-blue-sonia-sanchez-metropolitan-opera-20220207.html In Philadelphia Orchestra world premiere, Valerie Coleman-Sonia Sanchez collaboration anchors remarkable night] |- | February 9, 2022 | ''The New York Times'' | Zachary Woolfe: [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/arts/music/review-philadelphia-orchestra-carnegie-hall.html "Review: Without a Note of Beethoven, an Orchestra Shines"] |- | March 7, 2022 | SF Classical Voice | [https://www.sfcv.org/articles/review/angel-blue-gives-moving-recital-cal-performances Angel Blue Gives a Moving Recital at Cal Performances] |- | April 6, 2022 | BroadwayWorld | [https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/BWW-Review-LA-TRAVIATA-Royal-Opera-House-20220406 BWW Review: ''La traviata'', Royal Opera House] |- |}
== Awards == {{BLP sources section|date=January 2025}} * Richard Tucker Award, 2022. * Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for the Metropolitan Opera production of ''Porgy and Bess'' in the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.<ref name="Angel Blue"/> * The Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award, 2021 * Beverly Sills Award, Metropolitan Opera, 2020.
In 2009, Blue was a finalist in Operalia, receiving first place in the zarzuela competition, and second place in the opera competition.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name="latimes1"/> She has also received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion's Emerging Young Entertainers Award, and the Redlands Bowl Competition. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Achievement Award January 21, 2014, given by Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
== Philanthropy == In 2010 Blue was a featured soloist on the ''Madrileños por Haití'' concert with the Orquesta Clásica de España in Madrid, Spain. The concert was dedicated to raising funds for housing projects for Haitians who have relocated to the Dominican Republic.<ref name=operawire /><ref>[http://www.madrid.org/fiestasdel2demayo/2010/espacios/haiti.html "Concierto Solidario Madrileños por Haití"], Fiestas del 2 de Mayo (2010), madrid.org</ref>
In March 2014 Blue took part in the annual AIDS Gala in Düsseldorf, Germany. The gala raised €142,000 to help those affected by AIDS and HIV in both Germany and South Africa.<ref name=operawire />
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}} * {{official website|https://angeljoyblue.com/}}
{{s-start}} {{succession box |before=Jillian Hallman |title=Miss Hollywood |years=2005 |after=Amy Yetasook }} {{s-end}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Opera}} {{Authority control|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue, Angel}} Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:American operatic sopranos Category:Singers from Los Angeles Category:University of Redlands alumni Category:Operalia prize-winners Category:Los Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni Category:21st-century African-American women singers Category:21st-century American women opera singers Category:African-American women opera singers Category:Classical musicians from California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Richard Tucker Award winners