NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz composer Terence Blanchard couldn’t have imagined how timely his opera about a gay boxer would become when he accepted a commission three years ago.

Blanchard’s “Champion” — with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer — is based on the life of former world welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith. Its world premiere at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis on Saturday comes just weeks after NBA center Jason Collins became the first active male pro athlete from one of the four major North American team sports to come out as gay.

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