Opera Programming: When is Representation At Odds With Cultural Sensitivity?

Do you remember the first time you went to go see a live production of an opera? Maybe it was during a school field trip, or for a date that you wanted to impress. I’ve met people whose first experience in an opera house was born out of a pure curiosity that led to the purchase of a ticket.

Everyone has a different story about their introduction to this art form, but what isn’t engaged as much is the residual emotional impact of said introduction. For me, the introduction came by way of performing on the stage, but I wasn’t able to measure the emotional impact opera had on me until I engaged opera as an audience member.

NEW RELEASE: Tyshawn Sorey ft. Alarm Will Sound-“For George Lewis”

Composer Tyshawn Sorey’s double-album, featuring the chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound, releases on Cantaloupe Music on August 27.

Recently profiled in the New York Times Magazine, Sorey has been called a denizen of the “in-between zone” by the New Yorker. The two works on the album, commissioned by Alarm Will Sound, tap into a central theme that Sorey calls “the decorating of time.”

EVENTS: Violinist Creates New Music Fest to Showcase BBIPOC artists

This August, a new music festival is coming to New York City highlighting musicians who are Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color in genres ranging from classical to jazz to musical theatre.

The Omnipresent Music Festival will showcase the talents of BBIPOC composers and musicians through concerts, lectures, and seminars. The free 5 day series runs from August 9 to 14 at the Morris Jumel Mansion (Manhattan’s oldest surviving residence). No tickets are required.

FRIDAY: Sound Off-Live from Broadway Presbyterian Church

Sound Off: Music for Bail presents a livestreamed concert beamed live from Broadway Presbyterian Church, featuring four of New York City's finest chamber musicians in a program of music by historical and contemporary Black American composers.