‘It was much bigger than me’: Terence Blanchard on being the Met Opera’s first Black composer

The renowned musician makes history with his staging of Fire Shut Up in My Bones starting a new era for a historically white and staid New York institution

Taking his bow during a nine-minute curtain call, Terence Blanchard could see this was no ordinary night at the opera. The 4,000-strong audience at the Metropolitan Opera in New York was striking in its racial diversity.

There were so many faces of pride," the composer recalls of last week's premiere. Obviously it was directed towards me but it was much bigger than me. Seeing themselves on the stage, seeing people that they knew, seeing the culture on the stage at the Met had people in tears."