American soprano, angel blue, Announced this week She said she had withdrawn from her debut in Italy’s Arena di Verona to protest the use of “blackface make-up” in the production of Verdi’s “Aida” starring Russian soprano Anna Netrebko. I told you.
“The use of black faces in any situation, artistic or not, is a deep and false practice based on an archaic theater tradition that does not exist in modern society,” said an international career. Blue, a growing black soprano, said in a statement on social media, she added that she would withdraw from her upcoming performances at another Verdi opera, La Traviata. “It’s aggressive, humiliating, and completely racist. The end.”
Many major opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, have white singers on stage make-up to perform the title roles of “Aida” and “Otello” long after the minstrel show, the role of Blackface. I stopped the habit of darkening. Other types of performances that rely on make-up to reflect racist caricatures have disappeared from many stages. However, this practice is still common in parts of Europe and Russia, and Netrebko has voiced support for heavy makeup.
In an interview on Friday, Blue saw production photos, including one showing a dark makeup dancer and singer circulating on social media on Monday night while she was in Paris for another performance. He said he was worried.
“I was shocked; I felt really strange in my mind,” she said. “I felt like I couldn’t go and sing or associate myself with this tradition.. “
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Netrebko is trying to rebuild her career after losing much of her involvement following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine due to the history of support for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. I posted a photo on her Instagram This week she showed her in very dark makeup and braids while singing the role of Ethiopian princess Aida in Verona.
Soon, Netrebko’s Instagram page was flooded with over 1,000 comments, and many blamed her for using makeup that said she was a racist and reminded her of Blackface. She wasn’t the only one to darken her skin with “Aida”. She played with some of her co-stars in dark make-up, similar to another cast that appeared in the opera that opened last month.
A Netrebko spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Netrebko was an advocate of the voice of this practice, claiming that it would help maintain the credibility of the work centuries ago. During the production of Aida in 2018, when Met tried to stop using make-up to darken her skin, she went to a tanning salon instead. In 2019, she made a dark make-up in the production of “Aida” at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, and on Instagram she wrote “Black face and body for the Ethiopian princess, for Verdi’s best opera! yes!”
Arena di Verona said in a statement that he has been producing this “Aida” for 20 years and it is well known that Blue has agreed to appear this summer.
“Each country has different roots and its cultural and social structure has evolved along different historical and cultural pathways,” he said in a statement. “Sensitivity and approaches to the same subject can vary widely in different parts of the world.”
“We have no reason or intention to offend or disturb someone’s sensibilities,” he added.
Netrebko hasn’t dealt with the recent controversy, but her husband, Yusif Eyvazov of the tenor, also appeared in the production of “Aida” in Verona, blaming Blue. In a social media post, he called Blue’s decision “disgusting” and questioned why she didn’t withdraw in another cast with her dark make-up when “Aida” opened last month. Did. (The cast included the Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska as “Aida”.)
According to a copy of the letter obtained by the New York Times, Peter Gelb, Met’s general manager, who regularly appears in Avazov, sent a letter to Evazov on Friday calling for his remarks to be “hateful.”
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art has no room for artists who are very mean to their thoughts,” Gerb wrote in a letter.
Gerb, who cut off his relationship with Netrebko in support of Putin this year, said in an interview that it has not yet been decided whether to penalize Avazov. “We are considering what steps to take,” he said.
Blue said her decision was not personal and did not target Netrebko or her husband.
“My decision has nothing to do with them,” she said in an interview. “My decision has something to do with my beliefs,” she added, she said, she was impressed by her confrontation with “something that harms people who look like me.”
Blue said he wants to eliminate blackface as more opera houses are working to bring diversity to the stage.
“There is no place for blackface to keep opera in place in today’s society,” she said. “I felt hurt by what I saw because I felt it was a tradition they were trying to keep hurt people.”
Avazov’s manager said he was not accepting comments on Friday.
Blue’s decision to appear at the Paris Opera Ballet in Gnoux’s “Faust” this summer, which became popular with the Metropolitan Opera in recent seasons, was praised by many fellow singers and American opera executives.
The resurrection of “Aida” in Verona has been Netrebko’s since returning to performances in late April as she tried to repair her career after being shunned in parts of the United States and Europe due to her relationship with Putin. It was one of the first stage opera engagements.
