Detroit Opera is starting its 25/26 season with a bold declaration: Black American love stories deserve center stage. The company’s new double-bill, “Highways and Valleys,” brings together William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley for performances Dec. 7, 11, and 13 at the Detroit Opera House.
Still’s Highway 1, USA comes from the composer often called the dean of African American composers, whose Detroit ties run deep through his granddaughter Celeste Headlee. The opera, first staged at LA Opera in 2024, follows Bob and Mary, a hardworking couple juggling family duty, sacrifice, and a dream they’re not sure America will let them reach. The music swells with Americana grounded in the Black experience, a reminder of how central that sound is to the nation’s cultural DNA.
Weill’s Down in the Valley, a folk opera penned by the Jewish émigré who helped shape 20th-century musical theater, gets a world-premiere staging from Detroit Opera. The story opens in a Birmingham jail cell where a young man relives the tragic love that led him there. It’s timeless, universal and, in this new staging, visually anchored by Christopher Myers, who makes his Detroit Opera debut with a sweeping production design. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette, known for Judas and the Black Messiah, outfits the cast in denim and workwear as a nod to Detroit’s labor legacy.
The cast brings back a powerhouse roster: director Kaneza Schaal returns after staging Blue in 2021; soprano Nicole Heaston steps back into the Detroit spotlight; mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell, tenor Victor Ryan Robertson and bass-baritone Davóne Tines reunite after previous standout performances; and baritone Babatunde Akinboboye brings the same charismatic force that made his “Hip-Hopera” a phenomenon. Detroit native Lawrence Mitchell-Matthews makes his debut as Sheriff in Highway 1, USA and the Preacher in Down in the Valley. Music Director Roberto Kalb conducts both works.
Detroit Opera is extending the celebration citywide with community events at local churches, Detroit Public Library, and a special Detroit ACE gathering on opening day, underscoring the company’s ongoing commitment to accessibility and cultural dialogue.
Performances run two hours with one intermission. Tickets are available at the box office, by phone or online, with discounted pricing for students, community groups, veterans, and first responders. Detroit residents can access $25 rush tickets during the performance week.
