On the surface, the opera “Blue,” which opened Saturday night at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, is about a police shooting of a Black teenager. But you never see the event at the heart of the story of the Harlem family it rips apart and thus this opera, composed by Jeanine Tesori with a libretto by Tazewell Thompson, avoids the depiction of any particular circumstances. So, free of the inevitable debate of who reached for a gun first, or who had the right to fear for his life, or what crimes were or were not being committed at the time, “Blue” is able to focus on parental dread. Specifically, Black parental dread of an American kid not coming home alive. You don’t have to be Black, of course, to know a feeling hardly uncommon to the operatic repertoire from Bellini’s “Norma” to Strauss’ “Elektra.” Most parents are introduced to dread with the wriggles of a new baby that seems so easy to break, a change in circumstance that forever belies one’s former, perhaps relatively carefree, existence. But “Blue” is also specific to contemporary Black families whose fear can rise to the level of not wanting to give birth to a Black child, as Tonya so lyrically howls in August Wilson’s Greek-style drama, “King Hedley II.”  Indeed, the first scene of “Blue” consists of a Harlem woman, known only as The Mother, and vulnerably sung at Lyric by the mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams (whose eyes often seem to be talking to the conductor, Joseph Young) confronts her pregnancy alongside her friends, which means singing about the wisdom of bringing a Black boy into America. And it continues with the boy’s father, sung by Kenneth Kellogg, offering a suite of defensive life advice for the couple’s son, as pertaining to conduct, attire, location and attitude, all of which can be summed up as, do not draw attention from the police. All this is spelled out to The Son (Travon D. Walker), even though The Father is himself a cop. Well, his son calls him a cop. He prefers “Officer. Of. The. Law.,” a title he embraces with the moral certainty of Victor Hugo’s Javert. One knows from the start how this story will end, of course, but that’s true of all tragic dramas. In this particular case, one spends time listening to heartfelt feelings expressed within a musical landscape filled with contrasts. Tesori is a multi-disciplinary composer, having scored such Broadway musicals and plays with music as “Kimberly Akimbo,” “Caroline, or Change,” and “Fun Home.” And, for what it’s worth, “Shrek.” Listen to her music here, especially her use of strings, and you will hear the romantic promise of America and also the thud with which the nation’s wheels meet the road of reality. One of Tesori’s greatest gifts as a composer is how she plays off what you might think of as mainstream American music with the sounds of the nation’s distinct communities. Add to that her talent for expressionism, for amplifying and underscoring a character’s cries of pain, and you have one of the most gifted living composers. She’s neither maximalist nor minimalist, understanding so well that American identity lies most obviously at the intersection of the two. Vocally, the same determined contrasts prevail: Walker’s tenor, all teenage defiance but with enough latent fragility that you fear for him from the start, withers in the wind against Kellogg’s thundering bass, even though you know that power cannot save The Father from pain, as masculine voices never can. And then there’s the baritone Norman Garrett, who sings The Reverend as if he is constantly unsure of the veracity of his words, even though he needs them to be true to live. I’ve been a fan of Tesori since I first saw her “Violet” and, in full disclosure, I also had a friendly relationship with Thompson some 25 years ago, when he was earlier in his career as an actor and director (now 78, he directs his own opera here). Still, I had no idea that Thompson could write so poetic a libretto. It’s tragically minimalist and just beautiful in the simplest of ways. The company of "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)Kenneth Kellogg, Travon D. Walker and Zoie Reams in "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)Christopher Humbert Jr., Kenneth Kellogg, Jonathan Pierce Rhodes and Terrence Chin-Loy in "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)Kenneth Kellogg and Zoie Reams in "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)The company of "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)Show Caption1 of 5The company of "Blue" by Lyric Opera Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker)Expand As “Blue” unwinds before you, this most American of operas also becomes a meditation on a great American schism, especially within the Black community, which you could define as the conflict between the church’s message of forgiveness, hope and reconciliation, its fervent belief that all men should be brothers, and the secular creed that insists that racism has seeped into the bones of American law enforcement and thus the fight must be entirely different. I think “Blue” is even-handed about that profound conflict, but taking sides simply is not its point. “Blue” is observing that people are born into this schism, and the situation is inestimably painful for them on a daily basis. “Blue” was commissioned by the Glimmerglass Opera in 2015, came to fruition in the fervent years of widespread outrage at police conduct, has enjoyed acclaim in several cities and arrives at Lyric at a time of enormous political change, hitherto mostly unanticipated. I think its reconciliatory powers are considerable. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. [email protected] Review: “Blue” (4 stars) When: Through Dec. 1 Where: Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 N. Wacker Drive Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes Tickets: $49-$319 at 312-827-5600 and www.lyricopera.org