Conductor Anthony Parnther is set to lead the return of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, “The Central Park Five.”
Set for viewing at the Detroit Opera, Parnther will oversee the opera’s nine-night run from May 11, 2025 to May 19, 2025.
Created in 2019, the “Central Park Five” follows the story of the Central Park Five, five Black and Latino teenagers who were falsely convicted of the rape and assault of Trisha Meili. Each of the teenagers spent about five to 13 years in prison until, in 2002, they were exonerated after DNA evidence proved they did not commit the crime.
Original composer Anthony Davis previously won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music for the “Central Park Five.” It was previously revived in 2022 with support from Parnther. Now under Parnther’s dictation, the Detroit Opera will be conducting its third revival of the play with support from Markel Reed, Justin Hopkins, original cast member Nathan Granner, Chaz’men Williams-Ali and Frederick Ballentine. New, larger orchestration is expected for the upcoming iteration of the opera.
“One of Detroit Opera’s central missions is to engage people with the relevant issues of
our time,” said President and CEO of the Detroit Opera, Patty Isacson Sabee, per a press release. “We’ll present the world premiere of Yuval Sharon’s futuristic new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, which could not be more timely as we ponder the role of Artificial Intelligence in today’s world. During the 2024–25 season we will present Anthony Davis’s award-winning 2020 opera ‘The Central Park Five,’ conducted by Anthony Parnther, one of the foremost interpreters of Davis’s music.”
“The Central Park Five” is one of many notable projects in the works for Parnther.
Along with the opera’s revival, the conductor will be making his own return to the Gateways Festival Orchestra with the all-Black ensemble set to perform at Carnegie Hall. Performing songs from William Dawson and Antonín Dvořák, they will be joined by Grammy-winner J’Nai Bridges to perform spirituals alongside other classical pieces.
Parnther will continue his work leading other symphonies, including the Charlotte Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony and the Virginia Symphony. He is also set to lead performances of scores from iconic movies like “Jaws,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Score.”
To help the younger generation, the conductor will continue serving as the Artist Director and Conductor of the RISE Diversity Project to support the growth of BIPOC musicians entering the composing field.
Parnther will lead the auditions for the program, which this year’s iteration of the RISE Diversity Project will hold from Feb. 15 to Feb. 16 in L.A.
