There aren’t many jazz operas around and it’s three years since Julian Joseph and Mike Phillips’ Shadowball premièred at the Mermaid theatre in Blackfriars following on from their collaboration together on Bridgetower in 2007. The latest jazz opera, this time the work of trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard written with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer, Champion, is premièred in St Louis later this month and shares sport as a theme. The opera is inspired by the true story of Virgin islands immigrant prize fighter Emile Griffith who became world welterweight champion in a 1962 fight that saw Griffith emerge the victor but as a result of which his opponent Benny ‘The Kid’ Paret died. The drama develops with the passage of time and revolves around Emilie meeting his opponent’s son 40 years on.