Posts tagged Black Women in Opera
Blackout and speak out : BWIO Book Reviews by Renee Ombaba

Here’s a growing list of texts that focus on Black studies. Makes my $20,000 degree in Southern Studies and deviation from music worth it.

Special thank you to my friend Chris and to my friends Purvis, Danielle, and Lynette.

Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andre

In Black Opera, Dr. Andre explores the realities of Black interactions with opera as a lens on Black experiences in the United States and South Africa.  She uses “critically engaged musicology” to discuss the “interwoven history of minstrelsy with opera” and highlight the role of activism in opera (28). She discusses Black classical arts achievements such as Marian Anderson’s concert on the National Mall. She goes beyond the tellings of Black bodies onstage to the meanings of Black presence in opera.  I love how she unearths the history of Black opera performers and discusses how intrical they were to developing opera. She seeks to free the world from an idea that there is only one interpretation of opera (195). 

Because performances so heavily rely on the performer, that performer’s identities and realities are tangled into the art.  In her conclusion, she discusses the identities of trans opera performers specifically the performance of Carmen by Opera MODO, which featured a transgender woman in the leading role. Dr. Andre says, “The performing body is not a neutral zone or a blank slate.” (196) The text places Black operatic artists, composers, and works at the epicenter of social change and revolution because these performers exist, act, and create the space for the fullness of their identities. 

Making Whiteness: THE CULTURE OF SEGREGATION IN THE SOUTH, 1890-1940 by Grace Elizabeth Hale

The title really speaks for itself. When people discuss race as a social construct, they fail to acknowledge how the fabrication of whiteness was essential to creating social norms, social order, and social injustices that justified segregation and racial discrimination. Hale tells the story of the post-emancipated South’s devious means to create social hierarchy by MAKING a unity in a white identity above the ‘racial other’. This model justified violence specifically against Black Americans ALL to protect the MADE-UP white identity. She further goes on to explain how this model of fabricating white culture and identity was adopted throughout America.

When I read this book, it solidified that the illusion of a romanticized U.S. South (through myths like the generosity of white slave owners, the happy, docile yet lazy work ethics of Black Americans, and the threats to American safety if Black Americans are integrated into society as equals) continues to fuel the flame of racialized hatred for Black people. When we think of genealogy of performance, we see a pre-formulated use of white identity as American values assisting in racialized hatred and violence towards Black people. As long as we pretend that whiteness and white identity is truly American, we threaten and erase the value of Black life or lifestyle. We must examine the ways society continues to ‘other’ Black life, humanity, and advancement for the sake of American identity (whiteness) through legislation, threat of violence, terror, and even death.  

Closer to Freedom: Enslaved Women and Everyday Resistance in the Plantation South by Stephanie Camp

There are so many books on pre-Reconstruction American history I could recommend, but Closer to Freedom by Stephanie Camp is by far my favorite. This text discusses day-to-day resistance as “mobility in the face of constraint.” (7) Unlike previous scholars, who actively demeaned the psychological development of enslaved people, Camp gives bondpeople agency by exploring the many ways they resisted an violently oppressive system. Camp says that although slavey limited the autonomy of the enslaved, enslaved people still found ways to re-negotiate those limits through time, space, and place.  (https://networks.h-net.org/node/512/reviews/810/stubbs-camp-closer-freedom-enslaved-women-and-everyday-resistance

Camp goes on to discuss the reconfiguration of time and space in even the most intimate moments. Naturally, I love how she discusses women and their oppositional resistance to their oppressors. She marks resistance as both “an individual and collective endeavor.” (Closer to Freedom review by Deborah Gray White*) She describes women’s bodies as loci of resistance that rejected the consumption of domination. Camp explores the three bodies of the enslaved person as: one which is dominated by slave owners, one which processes that domination, and one which enjoys the fullness of their humanity, which becomes a “contested site between enslaved and enslaver.” (Closer to Freedom review by Deborah Gray White)

This comes in handy for performing artists because the body is space. Our bodies, our voices are the space we use and share with love freely to audiences. As Black performers, our bodies, our voices, our art are the symbols of resistance, which can be used to make social change through our art.   


*The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Autumn, 2007), pp. 298-299

On Intersectionality: Essential Writings by Kimberlé Crenshaw 

 Black legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw is on the forefront on the discussion of intersectionality and police violence that women face. #sayhername She coined the term intersectionality to discuss the discrimination Black women face and to expose the legal limits of Black women’s claims against these discriminations. She reaches in the margins to dismantle existing power relations that limit the voices of Black Women.

It’s important to understand the reality of Black womanhood as an intersection of multiple identities and multiple oppressions. That intersection is where Crenshaw exposes the power and oppressive nature of limiting discussion on race, gender, and identity. Black women are not just Black or not just women, we exist in a yet to be valued intersectional space that continues to inform our realities. 

Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology edited by E. Patrick Johnson, Mae G. Henderson

This text takes the discussion of intersectionality further as it “interanimates Black studies and queer studies.” (1) Even the forward by Sharon P. Hollard takes us on a beautiful journey that unpacks the “limit and shape” of Blackness and queerness. (x) In its introduction, Johnson and Henderson break down the ways Black queer studies has been buried in the sea of a Black studies movement that amplified Black male heterosexual voices.  Representing a range of political and social experiences and gender and sexual identities, the text nurtures a field of study that impacts the lives of so many. Feurgson’s essay explores genealogy of exclusion in social construction as it relates to race and sexuality. Johnson’s essay discusses broadening the scope of queerness to include Black people and people of various socio-economic backgrounds. Carbado defines what it means to be a “predator of discrimination” especially to those who accept themselves fully. (11) 

 

As we fight for justice and freedom, we remember that a model of true inclusion must be present. One identity cannot represent the whole of Black lived experiences. We must actively and intentional amplify the voices of Black queer people and refuse to homogenize the movement.  Blackness is not a monolith. 

Trans Women Are Women. This Isn’t a Debate. Raquel Willis 

Raquel Willis gives it to us without apologies, and I love her text for that.  She breaks down the limiting view of womanhood by a mainstream feminist. She gives point-by-point analysis on why these definitions of womanhood are destructive and counterproductive.  Willis said at The Women’s March, in this movement, no one can be an afterthought.  This is true. If we’re all fighting for freedom, we have to make sure we all get it.  She actively advocates for Black trans women’s voices.  

The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation Book by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff

The Race Beat explores how the media in the 1950s and ‘60s worked to shape the narrative around the Civil Rights Movement and how Civil Rights leaders used this to advance their cause. The text profoundly uses secret correspondence to tell how the news and journalists exposed the reality of America’s racism to its citizens and how the media compartmentalized the movement for the consumption of Americans. The text exposes how journalists and other media professionals in Little Rock, AR (1957- Integration of Central High) encouraged the white crowd to ‘Yell, again’ in attempts to have footage for new reports later in the day. (160) Civil Rights activists used the media as well to further expose the problems of racialized hatred in the South by scheduling earlier protests, which further demonstrated the violence of Southern racism in the face of a nonviolent movement. The Civil Rights Movement grew the new platform of televised news media in the 1950s and 60s and without it, news as we know would not exist. 

We see how television journalists and newsrooms use their influence to shape the minds of citizens for or against the lives of Black people. Even in the internet and social media, where there’s an abundance of information, CEOs and social groups decide how we communicate the realities of Black lives. In many ways, technology and social media place the power of revolution in the hands of people. We can share in real time  the discrimination, hatred, and violence reaction by police to protestors. We expose the active manipulation of the movement by outsiders that flood the limiting mainstream news stories. WIth social media, we can shape the reality of the current political movement against racialized hatred by sharing our comments, concerns, and videos. In more sinister ways, we understand that social media moguls and others have their own hateful political agendas and will turn to support oppressive regimes at our expense. (Blackout Tuesday disenfranchisement, anyone?) 

Growing up Jim Crow - Racial Socialization of Black & White Southern Children, 1890-1940 by Jennifer Ritterhouse

This book still carries me today after reading it in 2013. Every threat and execution of violence is a means to negatively socialize us and the future generation in fear, trauma, and stress.  When we relive the traumas faced by Black people over and over again through new reports, social media, and word of mouth, we are being reared into fear and anxiety. The imagined reality of oppressors (White dominant culture and identity as American values) enforces the pre-established racial and socio-economic hierarchy that is nurtured by what Jennifer Ritterhouse calls ‘racial favoritism’. 

In this text, Ritterhouse explores how racial dominance among whites was taught in the home and reinforced in the public sphere. These practices taught children who should be valued and who should not be valued. It ensured that as they grew, they could continue the tradition of racial dominance and inferiority. Racial favoritism and socialization ensured that adults fell in line to continue a Jim Crow system. Any threat to the system of de jure segregation was met with violence and terror. (Sound familiar?) As a result, many Black people, regardless of socio-economic background, adopted respectability politics as a means of protection from said violence and terror. These politics never worked. I love how Ritterhouse explores the gender dynamic of race relations because gender plays a major role in how we understand racism (and thus how we react to it, which is another argument for another blog post).  

The dynamic of a racial binary has never been fully, completely separated (i.e. Black women rearing white children and cleaning white homes, children playing the practices of racial domiance and inferiority together, the dependency on Black labor for a thriving American economy). There has always been these fluid lines of Black and white interaction for the sake of racial segregation and racial dominance. We tend to forget that promoting racial fluidity is not a basis for some sort of racial reconciliation revolution. This fluid relationship between races has always existed and is necessary for oppression; however, we have to go a step further and realize what true racial harmony (dismantling socialization tactics of racial dominance-Thank you Nickelodeon commercial) looks like by examining how we socialize children and adults to ignore and promote racialized hatred mainly in the home and reinforcement through media.  

Simple-ish: Understanding the Opera Voice Types

We love opera, but it is complex. From the languages to the etiquette and let’s not even talk about the technique. For all its complexities, opera embraces the uniqueness of the voice. The most special part of opera is its celebration of varying vocal types. So lucky for you, we can make one aspect of opera simple-ish. 

Most Common Voice Types

In opera, singers are categorized by their voice’s type and range. This voice type is determined by the color, weight, agility, and timbre (distinct quality) of the person’s voice. The four most common types of voices are:

Soprano

Mezzo-Soprano

Tenor

Bass

Once the basic category is determined, singers are further categorized by range. This is where things get more complex. We’re just going to keep it cute and explore the Elite Eight: Coloratura Soprano, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Contralto, Countertenor, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass

These categories are just an introduction to operatic voice types and singers break these limits every day. 


The Elite Eight

Coloratura Soprano

With the highest human vocal register, a coloratura soprano sings difficult passages with agility. The two subcategories of coloratura soprano are dramatic and lyric. (Vocal Range: C4 to F6) 

Examples: Pretty Yende, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Reri Grist, and Gwendolyn Bradley


Soprano

Sopranos sing with a very high vocal range and are further categorized by the weight of their voice. These subcategories include soubrette, lyric, spinto, dramatic, and coloratura. (Vocal Range: C4 to C6)

Examples: Leontyne Price, Brandie Sutton, Martina Arroyo, Leah Hawkins, Julia Bullock, Janai Brugger, Golda Schultz, Angel Joy Blue, Jeanine De Bique, Nicole Heaston Lane, Roberta Alexander, Camellia Johnson, Jessye Norman, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, Barbara Hendricks, Leona Mitchell, Adele Addison, and VuVu Mpofu.


Mezzo-Soprano

Being a Mezzo is not just about the ability to sing lower than a soprano, but the color that accompanies that lower register. Mezzo subcategories can also be lyric, dramatic, and coloratura. Crazy right? (Vocal Range: C4 to A5)

Examples: Denyce Graves-Montgomery, Florence Quivar, J’nai Bridges, Shirley Verrett, Isola Jones, Betty Allen, Taylor Raven, Grace Bumbry, Raehann Bryce Davis, and Maria Ewing


Contralto

Usually categorized as the lowest female voice type, contraltos have the darkest and richest timbre.  You definitely know a contralto when you hear one. (Vocal Range: F3 to F5)

Examples: Marian Anderson, Carol Brice, and Funmike Lagoke


Countertenor

The countertenor voice sits much higher than the tenor voice. These voices are different from the male soprano or alto voice because of the tone quality and poignant sound. (Vocal Range: G3 to E5) 

Examples: John Holiday, Patrick Dailey, Derek Lee Ragin, Darius Elmore, Darryl Taylor, Matthew Truss, and Reginald Mobley


Tenor

A tenor is a high male voice that can be leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor. (Vocal Range: A♭2 to F5)

Examples: Lawrence Brownlee, George Shirley, Russell Thomas, and Sunnybody Dladla


Baritone

Baritone voices lie between tenor and bass.Baritone cans be baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, Kavalier Baritone, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone. (Vocal Range: G2 to G4)

Examples: Sidney Outlaw, Christian Simmons, Simon Estes, Eric Owens, and Terry Cook


Bass

Bass are categorized by their dark and low tone. The bass subcategories are much more complex than other voice types but the most common are bass-baritone, lyric bass, basso buffo, and basso profondo.  (Vocal Range: E2 to E4)

 Example: Williard Wentworth, Solomon Howard, Edwin Davis, Andrew Frierson, and Morris Robinson

Michael Thomas: Designing in Opera
I have always admired stylishly confident women who dress with great authority.

— Audre Leon Talley

From Ruth Carter’s “garments of protest” in Do the Right Thing to Diana Ross stopping the world in Jon Higgins’ designs, Black fashion designers stand at the forefront of fine art bringing a strong sense of self to the fashion world. These designers work with performing artists to create experiences of truth, beauty and authority.  Black designers hold the tradition of setting trends and breaking down barriers. They create pivotal moments in history and art. Following the tradition of costume and fashion designers like Jay Jaxon, Designer Michael Thomas from Philadelphia, PA sets his own path of greatness through fashion. Thomas uses his designs to dress opera singers in authority. 

Michael Thomas Originals designs gorgeous gowns for opera singers in concert and costume design for operas.  His love and appreciation for opera started in middle school with his English teacher. Ms. Gavula assigned operatic librettos as literature to her students, so when Thomas first saw Aida starring the marvelous Angela Brown, he already had the knowledge base to appreciate the artform. The coalescence of lighting and the brilliantly colored costumes captured his attention immediately.  “Sitting in the theater and capturing  the amazing talents of the entire production,” Thomas says, “inspired me to once write an opera of my own.” Although he did not have the musical background to support this dream, this love for opera would find its way back to him. 

Featured soloists (left to right) Funmike Lagoke as The Everlasting, Rodrick Dixon as Shaman, and Karen Slack as Eternal Mother on stage with conductor Yannick Nezet-Sequin at the Philadelphia Orchestra world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe's "Healing …

Featured soloists (left to right) Funmike Lagoke as The Everlasting, Rodrick Dixon as Shaman, and Karen Slack as Eternal Mother on stage with conductor Yannick Nezet-Sequin at the Philadelphia Orchestra world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe's "Healing Tones on March 28, 2019, at Verizon Hall.

Thomas never imagined that his talent and love for design would one day meet his love for opera.  This dream continues to come true especially when he was selected to do costume design for Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones.  The opera premiered with the Philadelphia Orchestra in March of 2019. Thomas designed costumes for The Eternal Mother and the Shaman. Charged with the task of designing based on the text, Thomas used the movement and color presented by the lyrics to create costumes that tell the story.  Through his designs, the characters present their authority. 

Thomas currently designs for opera singers like Karen Slack, who he met through Healing Tones. He often designs custom gowns for singers like Slack for recitals, concerts, and other special events. When it comes to designing gowns for women, Thomas puts the woman’s body first and takes time understanding the individual figure of his clients. He does not make assumptions when it comes to his clients. Thomas notes, “Many designers say they are designing with the client in mind, but the Michael Thomas Brand takes [this philosophy] literally.  The custom division of the Michael Thomas Brand starts crafting greatness from the initial encounters with the clients.  

Soprano Karen Slack in Recital wearing an original Michael Thomas design.

Soprano Karen Slack in Recital wearing an original Michael Thomas design.

Thomas wishes to build today’s opera stars through style and fashion, and his work proves he can do just that. He hopes to continue his work with Black opera singers and specifically with The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. “I want to help and design gowns for their African or African American singers to perform in as they embark on auditions! I don’t want any Black opera singers to feel they can’t sing because they don't have the funds to afford a star wardrobe.” 

In a world where Black designers are underserved and underappreciated, Thomas does not shy away from the hard work or added pressure of being a Black designer. The Michael Thomas Brand’s prioritization of the client’s body encourages her to have power within that body and authority when she performs. The worlds of fashion and opera need Thomas because he champions art, passion and love to create beauty.  Opera singers truly have a “Designer in [their] Pocket” with Michael Thomas.

BWIO Serves the Community: La Toya Lewis' takes her students to see Porgy & Bess

One of my greatest goals with Black Women in Opera (BWIO) is to serve the community through education on opera and the role Black artists play in the field.  Throughout our BWIO community, many members are doing this work already. BWIOs like Soprano La Toya Lewis dedicate their talents and energy to equipping the next generation with knowledge on the arts.  On January 28, 2020, Lewis took 15 of her students from the Police Athletic League Acting to see the opera Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera. 

Tony Danza founded PAL acting to compliment the work presented by the Police Athletic League Teen program. Through activities in the performing arts, the program exposes students to the possibilities in the arts. The program hired a drama teacher and La Toya Lewis as a  music teacher to expand their outreach. Lewis along with other staff have helped the program grow from a few students to hundreds of lives changed by its impact. In 2017, Lewis accompanied the students to China. In 2018, the students performed at Carnegie Hall. The students normally attend Broadway shows. Porgy and Bess was their first experience at an opera. Lewis stated, “I’ve taken some of [the students] around the world, and their curiosity and openness to new experiences always inspires me.“

To prepare for their trip to the Met, Lewis taught the students about opera. She thoroughly enjoyed the excitement about opera from her students.  “To actually see students excited about Opera felt really refreshing and made me hopeful for the future.” Porgy and Bess Met chorus member Charles Carter performed for the students as a special treat.  In addition to the lessons on opera, the student received information on etiquette for dining, conversation and fashion. Lewis instills in her students a sense of belonging that will carry them in any space whether it’s “a high-end restaurant, a luxury hotel or even an opera house.” Black Women in Opera like La Toya Lewis create new opera lovers through their dedication to sharing their gifts with the next generation. Lewis wants her students to know that “thousands of Black people are working in the classical world and if [my students] want to someday, they can too.”