Before the death of George Floyd sparked a national toll on racism, a new opera was to be performed in Seattle on the very subject.

Sidelined by the pandemic, that opera is now playing at McCaw Hall — and that’s even more relevant.

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“Blue” is a modern opera about an African-American mother, father and son.

“It’s first and foremost a family story. It’s a human story,” opera singer Ariana Wehr said.

She says emotions are universal and storyline is particularly relevant.

For example, there is a scene in which the father—a policeman—begs his black son to be careful: “You are a black boy! A moving target that walks,” he sings to the teenager as he begs his son to take off his hoodie and jewelry.

But the son is killed by a policeman during a demonstration. Adding to the complexity, the officer is one of the father’s colleagues and friend.

For the diverse cast members, Wehr says, “There is an emotional cost, I think, to all of us telling this story. For me, personally, working there, I felt a lot of anger and pain about the extrajudicial killings of black people at the hands of people in this country and around the world.

Opera actors carry the weight of their own experiences and what they want others to understand.

“I think I feel an added sense of responsibility to get it right, to do this play justice,” said cast member Korland Simmons.

“Because it’s so contemporary and speaks to our times, I think it’s incumbent on us to tell this story in a really great way that hits home some of the high notes of what’s there. in the room,” he added.

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But why opera? Why is this the appropriate vehicle for such an important subject?

“For opera,” says Simmons, “you have to have those voices that can carry an orchestra and go out into a theater, and that – in itself – is amazing and gripping, and makes you stop what you’re really doing and doing. Warning.

“And the opera is big – it’s storytelling on a grand scale,” Wehr added.

She thinks it’s an appropriate place to explore complex issues such as race relations, the role of the police, love and family.

“I believe that art, in all of its forms, has the ability to reflect on ourselves and our society and let us reflect on what kind of citizens and friends we want to be,” Wehr said.

“It can help spark conversations that we all need to have,” Simmons added.