More Guests Confirmed For 'Faithful Friday With Angel Blue'

Mathew Anchel will be a special guest on Faithful Friday with Angel Blue today, Friday, April 24 at 12:00 p.m. ET. A popular bass with Stuttgart Opera, American-born Anchel also runs his own successful voice studio, teaching a range of styles from pop to opera. In a new development for 'Faithful Fridays', Mr Anchel will also perform.

Thomas Hampson will be Angel's special guest on Friday, May 1 at 12:00 p.m. ET. With an operatic repertoire of over 80 roles, he is one of the world's most admired baritones and has been inducted into both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Gramophone's Hall of Fame.

Golda Schultz will join Angel on Friday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The South African soprano recently shared the stage with Angel in the Metropolitan Opera's Porgy and Bess (Blue as Bess and Shultz as Clara), a production so successful that several extra performances were added-something without precedent in the Met's modern history.

Angel Blue began her weekly 'Faithful Friday' talk show series on March 20, 2020, welcoming guests via social distancing video hook-ups. Participants to date have included actress Laverne Cox, fashion and Instagram favorite Sandra Violante, and singers Christine Goerke and Lucas Meachem. Already confirmed for future episodes are Tituss Burgess, Shanna Ferrigno, and Michael Fabiano.

While in quarantine mode at home in New Jersey, in addition to producing Faithful Friday with Angel Blue, the singer has been presenting 'virtual recitals' with young singers, recognizing that there are many others who lost opportunities they had been working towards, particularly at universities and colleges. She has also been leading regular motivational chats via Instagram with followers and fans. Last week she performed in the inaugural Live with Carnegie Hall concert, and on Saturday, April 25, will again film herself singing live for the Met Opera At-Home Gala.

In her globe-spanning career Angel has performed in more than 35 countries with companies including the Vienna State Opera, La Scala (as the company's first black Violetta), Dresden Opera, San Francisco Opera, Frankfurt Opera, the Aix Festival, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Angel has been immersed in music her whole life, with a father who was an accomplished gospel singer and mother who played piano and violin. The family frequently travelled together as Angel's father was a preacher who gave sermons throughout the US.

She funded her musical training at UCLA by participating in beauty pageants, collecting the Miss Hollywood crown and becoming the first African-American to hold the title of Miss Apple Valley, as well as being named runner-up Miss California and Miss Nevada amongst other titles.

Angel reached new audiences last year thanks to the popularity of a video for YouTube's HiHi Kids, in which she sat for interviews with children answering questions about her profession.

Angel's forthcoming engagements include opening Boston Symphony Orchestra's Tanglewood season on July 3, singing Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. She is slated to kick off LA Opera's new season on Sept. 26, 2020, with a role debut as Leonora in Il Trovatore. She will deliver her signature portrayal of Mimì, in three different productions of La Bohème with San Diego Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and at Washington National Opera. International engagements in 2020 include Violetta in La Traviata at La Scala and the title role in Tosca at Semperoper Dresden.