The Harlem Opera Festival 2026 - Marcus Garvey Park Edition

Since the Summer of 2018, Harlem Presents has presented the next generation of great opera singers at The Harlem Opera Festival.
About this Event

Since the Summer of 2018, Harlem Presents has presented the next generation of great opera singers at The Harlem Opera Festival. The tradition continues on Saturday, July 18th from 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm and Saturday, July 25th from 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm.

REGISTER TO RESERVE A FREE SEAT IN YOUR NAME!

The Harlem Opera Festival is free and open to the public. You don't have to register to attend. You do have to register to reserve a free seat in your name.

Two-time Grammy Award–winning soprano Lynnesha Crump is celebrated for her powerful dramatic voice and commanding stage presence. A native of Washington, DC, she has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in multiple productions, including the award-winning Porgy and Bess, and has performed with companies including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Des Moines Metro Opera, Portland Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival. She made her role debut as Ortlinde in Die Walküre and performed at the inauguration of President Barack Obama alongside Beyoncé.

A prizewinning artist, Ms. Crump has earned top honors in the London Classical Music Competition and the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, among others. She holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the Mannes School of Music and has studied in Italy with Aprile Millo, Richard Bonynge, and Marco Gandini. This summer, she makes her role debut as Léontine in Joseph Bologne’s L’amant Anonyme with New Camerata Opera.

Philadelphia native Thomas Balfour Austin is an emerging tenor known for his vibrant presence and growing impact in the world of classical music. He holds an A.A. in General Music from Montgomery County Community College and a B.A. in Integrated Arts from The Pennsylvania State University (Abington Campus). He recently earned his M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Delaware, studying under Dr. Isaí Jess Muñoz, Dr. Makeda Hampton and Dr. Brian Carter.

Highlights include a concert performance of Porgy and Bess with the Marian Anderson Historical Society and participation with Liberty City Arts and Bel Canto Boot Camp with Rachelle Jonck. He also presented a New York recital exploring the life of Bayard Rustin with Opera Exposures and took part in a master class with Grammy Award winning soprano Latonia Moore. Most recently, he appeared as a guest artist at the Apollo Theater alongside Nia Drummond, continuing a legacy of performance in one of America’s most storied cultural institutions.

This past season, Thomas appeared in Anthony Davis’s Amistad with Harlem OperaTheater and Connecticut Lyric Opera, and he recently made his house debut with the Metropolitan Opera as a member of the Chorus in Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess. Recently, he has been selected to be apart The Denyce Graves Foundation's new Generational Voices Program. Thomas continues his studies with internationally renowned tenor Jesús García as he prepares for the next chapter of his artistic journey.

Carami Hilaire is a soulful soprano from Brooklyn, New York who is a graduate of the Professional Studies program at Mannes. Carami has also received awards from both the Wagner Society of New York and the Premiere Opera competition. She has sung with the Internationale Opernwerkstatt based in Switzerland. She has performed the role of Tosca with both Regina Opera and New Jersey Verismo Opera to rave reviews as well as the roles of Aida in Aida and Musetta in La Boheme. In fall 2020 she sung the role of Alice in Alice in the Pandemic with White Snake Opera projects. In 2022, she sang the soprano solo in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, with Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra. In May she also performed the role of Circe in “Survivors Odyssey” which was presented live at Opera America’s Opera Conference. In the fall she returned to her collaboration with White Snake Opera Projects to sing the role of Tiamat in Cosmic Cowboy which generated rave reviews. “Indeed, the universe creator and savior Tia, as dramatically sung by Carami Hilaire, unleashed from the magic fires of chaos a Brunhilde for our times…[she] sang with brilliant force and conviction almost continuously.” --Lee Eiseman, The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Chase Taylor's recent appearances include Soloist in X: The Life and Times of Malcom X with Seattle Opera and the Metropolitan Opera; 'Nash' in the world premier of Fire Shut Up in my Bones (Grammy-Soloist), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Porgy and Bess with the Metropolitan Opera (Grammy); Soloist, producer, co-writer and keyboardist in Kanye West's operas Nebuchadnezzar and Mary; Mingo in Porgy and Bess, Les Troyens, Show Boat, Nabucco and Tannhāuser with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Messenger (cover) in Aida, the Leader (cover) in Weill’s Lost in the Stars, and various concerts with the Glimmerglass Festival Opera.

Gregory Hopkins is the Founding Artistic Director for Harlem Opera Theater. For more than 35 years he has been Minister of Music for Harlem's Convent Avenue Baptist Church. Additionally, he is Music Director of the Harlem Jubilee Singers and the Cocolo Japanese Choir.

As a singer, pianist, organist, conductor, and clinician, music has taken Hopkins throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He has prepared choirs twice for the National Baptist Convention and was Music Director for the NAACP's Centennial Celebration. For Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March on Washington, Hopkins was chosen to sing just before the keynote speech.

Hopkins has taught on the faculty of Howard University and Morgan State University.

With a mission of providing free cultural entertainment for the residents of the village of Harlem, Harlem Presents has five program offerings – “HarlemWeen”, “The Harlem Hoedown”, “The Harlem Opera Festival”, "The Harlem Scary Movie Festival", and "The Harlem Musical Theater Festival".

"HarlemWeen" – presented on every Halloween evening since 2011 – except during SuperStorm Sandy – HarlemWeen is a family-friendly costumed Halloween festival presented on the plaza of the iconic Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building. In addition to a DJ inspired dance party, the afternoon/evening activity includes face-painting, storytelling, “Thriller” dance lessons, and the exhibition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” on a 25’ inflatable movie screen.

“The Harlem Hoedown” – taking place on the plaza of the Harlem State Office Building occasionally since 2012, this family-friendly activity has square dancing, a caller, and the live music of the Ebony Hillbillies at its core. Additional activities include a mechanical bull and a swamp with live animals.

“The Harlem Opera Festival” – since the Summer of 2018, the Harlem Opera Festival has celebrated the next generation of great opera singers by presenting emerging opera singers of color (mostly) in recital format at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park and the bandshell in Jackie Robinson Park.

"The Harlem Scary Movie Festival" - Saturday, October 29th, 2022 witnessed the first-ever Harlem Scary Movie Festival. Friday, October 27th, 2023 witnessed the second-ever Harlem Scary Movie Festival. The Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park plays host to this terrifying festival.

"The Harlem Musical Theater Festival" - Launched in the Fall of 2023, The Harlem Musical Theater Festival celebrates the next generation of great musical theater artists by presenting emerging musical theater artists of color (more often than not) in concert format. The singers are sourced through a competitive audition process.

Under Artistic Director, Gregory Hopkins, internationally acclaimed tenor, conductor, organist and pianist, Harlem Opera Theater performances include all types of musical offerings: opera, oratory concerts, recitals, Negro Spirituals and varied forms of American music, in keeping with there mission “to provide performance opportunities for professional and developing gifted artists within Harlem and communities where opera is seldom performed; and to cultivate and expand audience appreciation for opera and classical music through creative programming.” Particular focus is given to the works of African American composers and to projects that connect different aspects of the performing arts.

Although the institution behind it was founded in 2001, the Harlem Opera Theater was established in the neighborhood of Harlem, NYC, in 2002. As such, Dr. Gregory Hopkins, the Artistic Director and an internationally acclaimed conductor, tenor, pianist, and organist, took the leadership role from the founding days to incorporate the organization alongside his colleagues. Since then, they have organized and presented numerous concerts with approximately 150 singers involved and a combined audience of over 15,000 patrons of the musical arts. Today, they continue their initiatives in guiding and providing new artists with opportunities to shine.

Come for the opera! Stay for the play! The Harlem Opera Festival wraps up at 7:45 pm. At 8:30 pm, the curtain will rise on the Classical Theatre of Harlem's awesome production of Othello.