Opera’s Lack of Diversity Extends to Offstage, a Study Shows
New York Times | Javier C. Hernández
In addition to a lack of racial diversity in principal roles being cast and composers being performed, Hernández highlights a recent study showing there is “also a striking dearth of minorities behind the scenes, in the ranks of opera administration.”
“The findings underscore the challenges many companies face as they work to attract new and more diverse audiences,” Hernández writes, ”challenges that gained fresh urgency after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, which brought renewed attention to questions about representation in the arts.”
Hernández quotes Marc A. Scorca, the president and chief executive of Opera America—“For opera to truly be the connected, contemporary cultural expression that we want it to be, we have to reflect this country” and Wayne S. Brown, a chair of the Opera America board—“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Are we reflecting who we are? Is this the image that we choose to project?’ ”
Related:
Representation Matters. We Need to do it Right. (Angel Eduardo, FAIR Substack, 5/11/22)
The Limits of Lived Experience (NYT 4/24/22)
Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s Essay on Literary Freedom as an Essential Human Right (2021)
