Sparr's 'Ali' premiered

D.J. Sparr, the Richmond-based composer and guitarist, introduced his one-act opera, “Approaching Ali,” over the weekend in Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. The opera, with a libretto by Mark Campbell and Davis Miller, is based on Miller’s memoir “Tao of Muhammed Ali.”

Sparr, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and University of Michigan, was composer in residence with the Richmond Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement Department (2009-11) and currently is Young American Composer in Residence with the California Symphony.

The Washington Post’s Anne Midgette writes about Sparr, “Approaching Ali” and WNO’s American Opera Initiative:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/approaching-ali-the-second-stage-of-wnos-effort-to-foster-new-american-opera/2013/06/06/f2f4b8ee-cdcd-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html

The New York Times’ Vivien Schweitzer reviews the debut production of the opera:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/arts/music/approaching-ali-by-d-j-sparr-at-kennedy-center.html?ref=music&_r=0