Karen Slack rules in African Queens – and offstage too.

Earlier this month, soprano Karen Slack won her first Grammy Award – for her very first album. It’s a recording debut as bold and rooted in conviction as the singer herself – acclaimed for both her dynamic performances on stages including the Metropolitan Opera and her work creating change in classical music. Slack joins us with pianist Kevin Miller for the NY premiere of her powerful song cycle African Queens, a work she has helmed from inception to realization. Ahead of the Mar 11 performance, we talked with her about the project, her favorite queen, what she does and doesn’t want to sing about, the power of self-belief, and more.

First, congratulations on your Grammy Award! Have you put it down yet?(!) How are you feeling, and what has been most rewarding about the win?

Haha! It keeps going up and down! I’m very proud. And what I’m most proud of is that I took a risk – to choose to do the album I did (an all-Florence Price album) for my debut recording – I bet on myself and look what happened! Often with a first album, a singer will feel the need to record standard repertoire, or music by European composers, or other things that showcase their voice. But I wanted to spotlight Miss Price’s art song repertoire, because while her music is now becoming known in the orchestral space, she’s still very elusive in the vocal world. I decided to take a risk and focus on her unpublished songs, most of which had never been recorded. And not just as a gift to her, but to the classical music world, to say, sing these songs! listen to these songs!

Let’s talk about African Queens. Tell us about the work and what inspired you to create it.

African Queens is a set of art songs I commissioned centered on Black queens and warrior women from the African continent and diaspora who did extraordinary things. The project was born out of frustration. In opera, singers are never part of the creative team when stories are being chosen. In a recital, I get to tell the stories I want to tell. And even in the recital space – I’m not interested in singing about flowery love or about taking poison because of a man(!). So, I did a lot of research, and well, one stone leads to another stone leads to a boulder. That’s how I came up with the concept, by looking for stories of women that inspired me, and feeling the need to tell the ones not being told.

Tell us about some of the African queens whose stories you’ll be illuminating.

Amanirenas is one of my favorites – the one-eyed queen and ruler of the kingdom of Kush. She’s a strong warrior woman who led her people and lost her eye in battle defeating Caesar. Composer Damien Geter wrote this piece, which has the queen speaking to her daughter who wants to go out into war: “No, daughter no! / do not take up my sword. / do not take up my shield. / patience …,” she sings. She tells the amazing story of how she lost her eye, and the song captures her as both fierce warrior and gentle mother.

Another of my favorites is Queen Nanny of the Maroons. Composer Joel Thompson wrote this song. Joel is of Jamaican heritage, and Nanny was a Jamaican queen. In his song, Queen Nanny sings a lullaby to the colonizers – she lullabies them to death(!). Holy smokes, I thought when I first got the song.  But it’s so beautiful, even with its dark words.

Jessie Montgomery chose Queen Nzinga. “Nzinga” is Jessie’s middle name, and so this really resonated for her.  The song is about Queen Nzinga’s psychological conflict as she twists and bends the knife in her internal struggle with being the leader and being the woman, and the personal cost of her career.

The stories are all amazing. My hope is that the audience leaves inspired to go home and google these women and learn more about them.

Of the seven queens whose stories you tell, is there one you identify with most?

Amanirenas. She’s the most operatic of them all, and she’s a powerful warrior who led her people. I feel very personally connected to her. A lot of younger singers now look up to me and the things I’m doing. It’s incredible when you sing at the Metropolitan Opera or with a great orchestra. But I’ve been able to carve out a space for myself without the traditional stamp, while being a very traditional singer. No one saw this for me. And because of not being able to sing the traditional repertoire in the manner I wanted to, it pushed me to be more creative. It pushed me to dig deep into things that were already in me. And I want others to do that too. I’ve become a leader in my industry, pushing other women forward.

You put this entire project together – conceiving the idea, researching, reaching out to composers – why take on so much, and did you ever feel overwhelmed?

I didn’t have the agency in my industry to be invited to the table. I wasn’t going to wait to be invited. I had to build the table myself. I had to bring on the collaborators I wanted to work with, and I did – eight of today’s most talented young composers. And I had to present the idea to the people who would speak to the people (!). I was building the project – each piece, each song, filling it out with poems – it was definitely a bit overwhelming at times. I was trained to be an opera singer. Building wasn’t a muscle I had used. But I always believed in my concept. I’ve always trusted myself.

Through commissioning, you’re not only expanding the soprano repertoire, but creating opportunities for young composers. Why is that important to you?

I truly believe that we lift as we climb, and that it’s my responsibility to use my platform to give gifted young composers the chance to be heard. The composers in this project are incredible. I want them to be considered among America’s great composers, not just Black composers. We need to support them. I wish I’d had more of that in the early part of my career. But there were also many days when I didn’t need to pay for a voice lesson, because someone said: you’re talented, you work hard, keep your money, I want to give you an opportunity. Now it’s my turn to pay it forward. There are doors and windows we need to open and run through, and we should take as many people with us as we can.

The artist you’ve called “the queen of queens,” Jessye Norman, appeared at 92NY several times – the first in recital in 1985, the last in 1996, in a 92NY Talks conversation with Anna Deavere Smith, in which she touches upon her own support of new music. How does it feel to be giving the NY premiere of this work in a venue with that history? 

It fills me with pride to even have my name spoken with Miss Norman’s. She was my standard, my model. Miss Norman, and Miss (Leontyne) Price, and Miss Battle – I’m their daughter, their niece – that’s my lineage.. But while they had these brilliant international careers – they weren’t able in their time to push for the things I’m pushing for.

I’m thrilled and honored to be performing this work at The 92nd Street Y. The intimacy of the hall makes it the perfect space for this kind of storytelling and for connecting with the audience. And 92NY’s audience is very educated and aware. The things I throw, they’ll be able to catch.

In addition to the accolades for your vocal artistry, you’ve been hailed for being a changemaker in classical music. What is the change you most want to see?

It goes far beyond music for me. What I would most like to see is more women at the top – at all institutions – and to see them really being supported in leadership. And when they get those appointments, that they truly support other women. That’s the change I hope for.

I always say my light is bigger than in classical music. This is my entry point.

Karen Slack, African Queens – Tuesday, March 11, 7:30 PM ET, in person & online

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