The first opera in Greensboro’s new Tanger Center is set to be a very Spartan affair.
Sidney Outlaw ’04, the cover feature in this magazine in 2012, has performed on the biggest stages in Europe and the US, from the Met Opera to English National Opera to Carnegie Hall.
The fact that it’s multi-Grammy winner and alumna Rhiannon Giddens’ very first performance in an opera since she was onstage in UNCG Opera’s “Little Women” as a grad student gives it international attention from the arts media.
UNCG Opera’s director and music professor since 1992, David Holley, has invited more of his former students and current stars, for a “Porgy and Bess” to be remembered. “When Greensboro Opera secured Rhiannon Giddens as Bess for January’s production, hiring Sidney as Jake was the second casting decision we made,” said Holley, who also serves as general and artistic director of Greensboro Opera.
“We wanted to capitalize on UNCG’s rich history of producing successful artists.”
By Mike Harris ’93 MA
Photography of Sidney Outlaw and Rhiannon Giddens by Martin W. Kane