Opera Aficionado is an exciting, new suite of programs designed for patrons who are passionate about opera. Aficionado provides an opportunity to learn more, dive deeper, and get an inside look at the world of opera.
With noted professor and author Naomi André, and Charles Chip McNeal, Director of Diversity, Equity and Community at San Francisco Opera
Moderated by Opera Aficionado Host, Cole Thomason-Redus
The culture and industry of opera in America suffers from an unfortunate past of elitism, classicism, and racism. As we continue efforts to diversify the faces of storytellers on our stage, it is important to remember and explore the ways in which Black singers have been identified in–or excluded from–some of the most sought-after roles in operatic literature. From the historical embracing of exoticism in casting a Black Carmen, to the portrayal of Figaro as a Black slave in colonial America, certain choices on behalf of our industry have created either a vehicle for black singers, or symbolic chains which restrained them to only a handful of roles in which their portrayal was deemed as acceptable to the socially-elite, white audiences of American opera houses. Looking to the road ahead, what is the importance of race in casting and what steps must we take in realizing the notion that opera is for everyone?