Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD Music by Daniel Schnyder Libretto by Bridgette A. Wimberly Performed in English with English supertitles NEW YORK PREMIERE A co-production of the Apollo Theater and Opera Philadelphia April 1 and 3, 2016 The Apollo Theater PHOTOGRAPHS BY SOFIA NEGRON IMAGE 1: Tenor Lawrence Brownlee stars as Charlie Parker in the New York premiere of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD. IMAGES 2-3: Lawrence Brownlee as Charlie Parker, with soprano Angela Brown as his mother, Addie. IMAGE 4: Tenor Lawrence Brownlee stars as Charlie Parker in the New York premiere of Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD. IMAGE 5: Mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams as Rebecca Parker, Charlie’s first wife, with Angela Brown as Addie Parker. IMAGE 6: Doris Parker (soprano Elena Perroni), Charlie’s second wife in the opera, visits Charlie (Lawrence Brownlee). IMAGES 7-8: Dizzy Gillespie (baritone Will Liverman) and Charlie (Lawrence Brownlee) reminisce about the bebop revolution that changed the world. IMAGES 9-10: Chan Parker (soprano Emily Pogorelc), Charlie’s third wife in the opera, meets Dizzy (baritone Will Liverman) and Charlie (tenor Lawrence Brownlee) at Birdland. IMAGE 11: Dizzy Gillespie (baritone Will Liverman). IMAGE 12: Charlie Parker (tenor Lawrence Brownlee) IMAGE 13: Addie Parker (soprano Angela Brown) sings “My Boy.” IMAGE 14: The opera dramatizes Charlie’s (tenor Lawrence Brownlee, center) stay in the Camarillo mental hospital in California. IMAGES 15-16: Charlie (tenor Lawrence Brownlee) sings of his one true love, his saxophone. IMAGE 17: Addie (soprano Angela Brown) insists she will bury Charlie in Kansas City, not New York. IMAGE 18: Baroness Pannonica “Nica” de Koenigswarter (mezzo Tamara Mumford), in whose apartment Charlie died on March 12, 1955. IMAGE 19: The opera takes place in a ghostly version of the Birdland jazz club. CONTACTS For Opera Philadelphia: Frank Luzi 215.893.5902 [email protected] For Apollo Theater: Nina Flowers 212.531.5334 [email protected] .