Posted on 07/21/2022 11:22:47 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
African American soprano Angel Blue has said she will not perform in an opera in Italy this month because another production held at the theater earlier this year featured performers in blackface.
The 38-year-old Grammy Award-winner announced she is bowing out of La Traviata at Verona Arena, in Verona, Italy, later this month.
She blasted the theater as 'archaic' for mounting another Giuseppe Verdi opera, Aida, that featured performers in blackface.
They include Anna Netrebko, a white Russian soprano, has been cast in the titular role of Aida in Verdi’s opera - despite the character being an Ethiopian princess.
In promotional material, Netrebko appears with dark makeup over her face and body, and wearing a wig with long black braids.
Angel Blue called the practice 'offensive, humiliating, and outright racist'.
Angel Blue, however, was still listed on Saturday on the arena's website as singing the role of Violetta in La Traviata on July 22 and 30.
The theatre said it was hoping that Blue, who is black, would accept an invitation to meet with Arena officials for 'dialogue' over the issue.
The arena said it had 'no reason nor intent whatsoever to offend and disturb anyone's sensibility'.
For decades, US civil rights organizations have publicly condemned blackface – in which white performers blacken their faces – as dehumanizing black people by introducing and reinforcing racial stereotypes.
This summer, the arena has mounted performances of Aida based on a 2002 staging of the opera classic by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019. That staging uses blackface.
'Dear Friends, Family, and Opera Lovers,' began the soprano's Instagram post. 'I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be singing La Traviata at Arena di Verona this summer as planned.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Well I boycotted Hamilton, so there!
“And all those token blacks on Renaissance-type TV commercials”
That’s been my pet peeve for years. The minority person always is smarter than, or superior to, the other. Black over white. Female over male. Kid over parent. Disgusting.
And the mixed-race scenes are so contrived and silly that I laugh more than get angry. One Thanksgiving dinner in an ad looked like the bar scene in Star Wars.
Now that's funny!
my faux pas
..there is that
Angel Blue is Black and spreading the racist propaganda
Blue, black, white: WTF is wrong with all those colors?
However, they are not making her wear whiteface. So she has a point.
Very offensive. Also, all the "music" in Hamilton is hip-hop/rap. It's disgusting. Often at least one or two songs from a successful musical cross over to popular music, but not one "song" from Hamilton has done so.
Opera is a white art form and Verdi was a white composer. How did the racial purity police ever allow a black gal into the field to begin with?
On the road where my mom lives are three neighbors in a row: Blue, Green, Wight. Some have inter-married to produce I-don’t-know-what color. Different shades of turquois, I guess.
You are so wrong. There are magnificent black opera voices, both males and females. It has been a challenge to cast an African-descended person in a European opera set in Italy, France, etc. But I think most of today's audiences would just ignore the appearance and listen to the vocal quality.
Laudate Dominum de Mozart, sung by Barbara Hendricks
Pari Siamo from Verdi's Rigoletto, sung by Robert McFerrin (father of pop singer Bobby McFerrin)
We have all heard of ‘affirmative action’ and the usage of ‘set asides’ and what it really means. I just recently heard a new (to me) term used to describe the selection of actors these days for commercials and TV - ‘affirmative casting’.
FTR, Anna Netrebko is one of the best sopranos in he world today and a lot of male opera fans have major crushes on Anya (as she's known) Not only is she a great talent, she's box office. Angel Blue is a very talented soprano also, though she hasn't developed the cachet that Netrebko has.
Also, Netrebko got essentially banned from the Met becuase, although she has condemend Russia's war against Ukraine, she has not specifically condemned Putin by name. (Remember, Anna's Russian. That would be dangerous.)
Now, they probably didn't need the blackface, any more than they need to put Angel Blue in whiteface. As I said above, it's about the music, your ability to sing it, and your acting chops. We've seen black singers and actresses in "white" roles before, and we've seen plenty of white sopranos sing Aida before. But it's no more worth withdrawing over than it would be worth withdrawing from La Traviata over Angel Blue.
I’ve never seen a black woman with blue eye makeup and a straight haired wig. (cough).
Idiot, now can sit at home unemployed and hopefully career limited.
Yes, they did come to my mind. 😃😀
I’d shrug and say “OK,” find a replacement or activate her understudy and move on with the show.
Enough with these attention-seeking SJWs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.