Detroit Opera to present William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley December 7, 11, and 13
Detroit Opera will present William Grant Still’s Highway 1 USA (above), Dec. 7–13, on a double-bill with Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley. LA Opera photo by Cory Weaver
DETROIT, Dec. 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Detroit Opera’s 25/26 opera season opens with a double-bill entitled “Highways and Valleys—Two American Love Stories” featuring two rarely performed American operas: William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley. Performances will be held at the Detroit Opera House on Sunday, December 7, Thursday, December 11, and Saturday, December 13.
Tickets are available at the box office (1526 Broadway Street), by phone (313.237.7464), or at www.detroitopera.org. $25 tickets for Detroit residents are available using the promo code DETROIT via this link: https://cart.detroitopera.org/highways-and-valleys/?promo=detroit
Highway 1, USA, composed by the “dean of African American composers” William Grant Still, was first seen at LA Opera in 2024. Set in the kitchen of a modest house attached to a gas station, the story focuses on Bob and Mary, who run the filling station and support Bob’s younger brother, Nate. When a harrowing event occurs, it throws into question the very nature of family, responsibility, success, and the American Dream. This working class love story celebrates the Black experience in an engaging musical voice, portraying how African American culture is central to the sound of America’s national identity.
“When I first listened to Highway 1, USA I kept getting swept off my feet into the strings, running around in my mind in a film score,” says director Kaneza Schaal. “It’s the same swell and release of Wagner, or Verdi, or Puccini. And in fact, that film score in my mind, that sound was built in studios in Hollywood by musicians who had played all those works and fled in exile to dream a new world. This production is set in Still’s imagination, his own dream of what was possible for Americans, for music, for the future.”
Jewish émigré Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley is a one-act folk opera that begins and ends in a Birmingham jail cell on the eve of the execution of Brack—a teenage boy convicted of murdering the man who tried to take Jennie, Brack’s beloved, away from him. Told partly in flashback, this story of ill-fated romance and shattered innocence is as timeless as it is universal. This is a new production by Detroit Opera, featuring a monumental backdrop by production designer Christopher Myers. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette (Judas and the Black Messiah) dresses the cast in denim and workwear that honors Detroit’s labor legacy.
The double bill features several returning artists. Director Kaneza Schaal—winner of a 2025 Doris Duke Artist Award, who previously staged Detroit Opera’s production of Blue in 2021—returns to direct both operas. Music Director Roberto Kalb will conduct. Also returning is soprano Nicole Heaston (Armida, Rinaldo, 2025), mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell (Forester’s Wife/Owl, The Cunning Little Vixen, 2024), tenor Victor Ryan Robertson (Elijah Muhammad, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, 2022), bass-baritone Davóne Tines (title role, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, 2022, and Europeras 4, 2024), and baritone Babatunde Akinboboye (Valentin, Faust, 2022, and Matias Reyes/Raymond’s Father, The Central Park Five, 2025). Baritone and native Detroiter Lawrence Mitchell-Matthews will make his Detroit Opera debut as Sheriff (Highway 1 USA) / Preacher (Down in the Valley).
Production photos are available here: Video b-roll is available here.
Community events
In conjunction with the performances, several community events will be in Detroit. Dates and locations are subject to change.
Worship Services, Sunday, Nov. 23 and 30, mornings, Greater Grace Temple, Second Ebenezer Church, and Hartford Memorial Baptist Church: Davóne Tines, a former Detroit Opera artist-in-residence, will continue his participation in the “Opera Goes to Church” series.
ACE at the Opera, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2:30pm, Detroit Opera House: The City of Detroit Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) will join Detroit Opera for the opening performance of Highways and Valleys.
“The Life and Artistry of William Grant Still” Discussion/Performance, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 6pm, Detroit Public Library: this free event will include performances of Still’s music by Detroit Opera's Resident Artists and musicians from the Detroit Opera Orchestra. Roberto Kalb will lead a discussion about Still’s impact on opera and classical music, together with Arthur White, Detroit Opera’s Director of Community Engagement, and Nathalie Doucet, Detroit Opera's Head of Music and Director of the Resident Artist Program. The library will exhibit items from its William Grant Still Archives as well as a fiber arts installation by Detroit-based artist Lisa Anderson.
About Detroit Opera
Detroit Opera is a national leader in the arts, embodying the innovative spirit and diverse perspectives of our city. We weave together incredible artistry, spellbinding drama, magical stagecraft, and stories that hit home—all in a historic, spectacular venue. Detroit Opera is creating an ambitious standard for American opera and dance that emphasizes community, accessibility, artistic risk-taking, and collaboration. Founded in 1971 as Michigan Opera Theatre by the late Dr. David DiChiera, Detroit Opera is led by President and CEO Patty Isacson Sabee, Barbara Walkowski Artistic Director Yuval Sharon, Music Director Roberto Kalb, Artistic Advisor for Dance Jon Teeuwissen, and Board Chairman Ethan Davidson. For more information, visit www.detroitopera.org. Follow the company on Facebook and Instagram (@DetroitOpera) and LinkedIn (Detroit Opera).
Contact:
Jennifer Melick
jmelick@detroitopera.org
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/64ba0b41-7b27-4e4f-8fed-28b1b901aac7
Highway 1 USA
Detroit Opera will present William Grant Still’s Highway 1 USA (above), Dec. 7–13, on a double-bill with Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley. LA Opera photo by Cory Weaver
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