CeeLo Green - "Mary Did You Know" [Official Audio]

CeeLo did an INCREDIBLE job covering this powerful song on his Christmas album. One of my favorite artists, and one that I cannot wait to collaborate with, paying homage to Christ, who is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!

J. Rosalynn Smith-Clark Performing "Signore Ascolta" at Opera Noir's Divas & Desserts Gala

This is one of my daughters favorite arias, so I had to post it! This performance of "Signora Ascolta" is from Opera Noir's annual Divas & Desserts Gala 2009 at Stags Leap Winery in Napa. It was a lovely evening filled with entertainment, wine, good friends and longtime supporters of Opera Noir. Enjoy!

J. Rosalynn Smith Clark Performing "Summertime"

This clip is from one of my nights at Yoshi's Oakland in the Bay Area. This is a prime example of what Opera Noir does. As an artist, I take an ethnocentric approach to classical music, such as fusing Duke Ellington with Puccini.  I hope you enjoy this rendition of Gershwin's "Summertime", with a bit of a twist to it!

Kind Words from the Consul General of Italy

Last week I had the pleasure of performing for the Consul General of Italy and his guests at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura. It was a wonderful evening, filled with great entertainment and lovely people. And, most exciting for me, my mother was able to fly in from the East Coast to attend, and spend some quality time with the family. I will be sure to post more pictures shortly.

In the meantime, check out the shot that @MauroBattocchi posted following the event!

"Relishing in the afterglow of an impeccable aria. J Rosalynn Smith-Clark at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura."
Read more at http://twitter.yfrog.com/h379yixj#vUqWlz4j8cEfj542.99

Check Out This Lovely Blog Post on my Performance for the Consul General of Italy!

"Relishing in the afterglow of an impeccable aria. J Rosalynn Smith-Clark at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura. #Puccini yfrog.com/h379yixj "

Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis Perform "I Loves You, Porgy" - The Rosie S...

Porgy and Bess, an Opera Noir favorite.

Audra McDonald Performs "Summertime" - The Rosie Show - Oprah Winfrey Ne...

One of my favorites to sing, though I fuse the classical and jazz renditions together to create a unique and fun performance. Beautiful Audra!

J. Rosalynn Smith-Clark Performing the "Honey & Rue Suite" with Dancers

Stepping Into the World of Blogging

As the end of the year draws near, we prepare to embrace new beginnings. We set goals and resolutions to be achieved over the course of 365 days. We invite new relationships into our lives, and rekindle old ones. We are more open to experiences, foods, sounds, etc that we may have shunned in the past. We meet the opportunity (or excuse?) to jump outside of our comfort zone and see the world through somewhat new eyes, if only for the first few weeks of the year.

I'm choosing to start my fresh start early. I am jumping into the world of blogging, and am so excited about it.

As the description says, my name is J. Rosalynn Smith-Clark, and I am the founder and Artistic Director of Opera Noir, a non-profit performing arts organization devoted to promoting cultural diversity in the classical arts. I create musical programs that juxtapose Puccini and Duke Ellington in a way that pays homage to both as the musical geniuses that they both were, and that is engaging and entertaining to a diverse audience.

As a company, we do a lot of free student dress rehearsal concerts and Master Classes, which allow students from low-to-moderate income families to experience the performing arts live, often for the first time. They get to be coached by the best in the business and, most importantly, by professional performing artists who look just like them. I love what I do, who I am, and the work that Opera Noir does.

I hail from Pittsburgh, PA, and come from a diverse musical background. I started out singing jazz in nightclubs to pay for my opera lessons. As my dear friend Mama Pearl says: I was a light-skinned woman with a whole lot of black soul on the inside LOL.

There is plenty of time for me to tell my story, as I plan on writing at least once a week over the course of the year. I'd love to learn more about you. Who are you? Where are you from? And what sparked your love for the classical arts?

I am very excited to see what this year will bring. God is moving in a major way, and both Opera Noir and J. Rosalynn Smith-Clark, the artist, have some incredible things in coming in 2013.

I hope you enjoy the journey with me. :)

Warmly,

Roz