“One of the true standouts at NSMT is Janinah Burnett as the Mother Abbess. Burnett grounds the Nonnberg Abbey in the reality of the time. She also raises her resplendent voice on “Maria” and “My Favorite Things,” and lets it soar to the rafters and beyond in the act-one solo closer, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”
Read MoreBoth dive deeply into undeniable relationships between notes and truth. Both know when to follow a brilliantly written script and when to be fearless enough to embrace deconstruction and the deeper insights it reveals.
Both capture the imagination and stir the heart. But jazz and classical music often are regarded as distant cousins instead of close family members.
Read MoreOr perhaps it’s not so surprising, considering that Burnett is the daughter of Carl Burnett, drummer for Freddie Hubbard, Horace Silver, Nancy Wilson and other legendary jazz artists. “My mother tells me that, as a baby, Nancy Wilson held me,” Burnett said. “That must have given me some good energy.”
Read MoreDuke Ellington composed "In a Sentimental Mood" in 1935 in North Carolina; in the same year, with its story set in South Carolina, Broadway's Porgy and Bess debuted, with its score including the declaration "I Loves You, Porgy." Also in 1935 Fats Waller made the pop charts with one of his recordings of "Honeysuckle Rose" which had debuted in a revue back in 1929, the same year Cole Porter first presented the musical question "What Is This Thing Called Love?" on the Great White Way. Soprano Janinah Burnett sings them all—gloriously—along with a spiritual, arias from operas, and plenty more on her debut solo recording called Love the Color of Your Butterfly. It begs the question "Is there anything this capable chameleon can't handle with panache, while staying true to herself and the very varied genres?"
Read MoreIn what almost seems like an alternative universe, not so long ago, when the performing arts weren’t just a virtual reality, you could have found acclaimed soprano Janinah Burnett in any number of places — interpreting roles like Bianca in La Rondine at the Metropolitan Opera House, enchanting audiences as Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, or singing jazz standards with her own quartet at the Cell Theatre in New York City. With a range and mastery of such disparate styles, it is not surprising that her debut album, Love the Color of Your Butterfly, which was released Feb. 12, showcases that diversity.
Read MoreBurnett’s extensive career has seen her perform on Broadway and with the Metropolitan Opera, where she made her debut as Bianca in La Rondine. But she grew up surrounded by jazz — her father was the drummer Carl Burnett — and this comes across in the organic flavour of this album’s unusual musical blend.
Read MoreWorld-renowned soprano Janinah Burnett will step into the spotlight with the release of her new album, Love the Color of Your Butterfly.
Read MoreThe Broadway League hosted its multicultural interactive discussion on February 29, 2019, featuring Janinah Burnett, Phantom of the Opera.
Read MoreRather than playing the role of Sophie as a teenage ingenue, for instance, Janinah Burnett will show her as a slightly more mature woman who happens to be African American.
Read MoreThe scene’s high-wire act is Lola’s series of incantations, featuring more than a few long-held top notes that soprano Janinah Burnett delivered with murderous (and magical) intensity.
Read MoreHer voice full of feeling as she sank, distraught but artfully restrained, into her chair, Ms. Burnett treated her potentially campy role with the care and affection you might give a long-lost family heirloom while lifting it from a dusty box at the back of the closet.
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