Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 6 - Champion

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 24 ACT II Back in Emile’s bedroom in the present, Emile is haunted by the ghost of Benny Paret, who still taunts his old opponent. In the late 1960s, Emile is enjoying a winning streak all over the world. Titles, trophies, and money roll in, but he remains disturbed by the death of Paret. He tries living it up, and, denying his own identity, he takes a young bride, Sadie, although everyone including his mother, who remembers her own childhood back in the islands, warns him against it. By the early 1970s, after the wedding, Emile’s luck seems to have changed. He’s now on a long losing streak and starting to display signs of “boxer’s brain,” or trauma-related dementia. Howie realizes that Emile’s days as a fighter are numbered and tries to caution him, as do his mother and his wife, but Emile rejects them all. Instead, he looks for comfort back at Kathy’s bar, where he makes a connection with a sympathetic young man. Outside in the street, a group of thugs taunts him. They beat him violently, exacerbating his brain injuries. Back in the present, Emile relives the nightmare of the attack. Luis tries to comfort him. In a New York City park, Emile asks for forgiveness from Benny, Jr. Luis tells Benny that since that terrible evening, Emile has struggled to find peace with what he’s done and who he truly is. Back at home, the painful memories subside, and Emile finds a moment of peace, having finally forgiven himself. He can now take life one day at a time. Synopsis reprinted courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Synopsis continued