NEW YORK — More than 60 years after Marian Anderson broke the color barrier at the Metropolitan Opera, black singers still face unique obstacles in building their careers within the industry.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said the company is “committed to increasing diversity on stage.” He added that the Met is “proud that today virtually all our leads in Porgy and Bess . are established Met stars,” who regularly appear at the house in a variety of other operas as well — a sign that the company has developed a strong lineup of black talent.
BALLENTINE: They’re more accepting of black women ... because black men in romantic roles will always be an issue. We can think of so many black women who performed all over the world: Battle, Leontyne , Jessye .... AP: Where do you stand on the issue of white singers darkening their skin for certain roles? The Met stopped using dark makeup for “Otello,” and white soprano Tamara Wilson protested against darkening her face for “Aida” in Verona, Italy.OWENS: That’s blackface, where you’re disparaging the person. When you look at “Otello” and “Aida,” someone is aspiring to be the leader or the princess of Ethiopia, I never had a problem with it.
Yet they are over represented in basketball, hip hop, rap, r and b and many other areas. Could it be that folks excel in some areas and not others? Could certain traits of a race of people be predisposition to success in some area and not others?
How about all the white singers marginalized in the hip hop and rap industry?
Next week: The overwhelming whiteness of US drawbridge operators.
Yes. Sad.
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