February is Black History Month - in the US since the Civil Rights movement of the 60s, and lately in Canada, UK and other countries. No, not in Australia.
In 1915 the historian Carter G. Woodson launched “Negro History Week,” to promote teaching of history that included the achievements of African Americans, and the challenges to their achieving. It's one of an array of heritage months. Support comes in various ways from educational institutions and businesses and arts. At the Met, it comes this year by screening of two weeks of operas with black stars.
The lineup is in other ways a portrait of black history in opera. The Met didn't have a black soloist till Marian Anderson became the first African-American soloist, in 1955, late in her career. And she sang Ulrica, the mysterious - and black - gypsy, in Verdi's Un ballo en maschera. "The first black woman on the Met Stage was type-cast, and it’s that detail that’s often left out of discussion." Read about the dubious story of this event here - and listen to her Ulrica. Listen here to her version of 'Softly Awakes My Heart', from Saint-Saens' Samson and Delilah twenty years earlier - 1935.
Then, 20 days later, baritone Robert McFerrin followed Anderson as the first male African-American Met soloist. He appeared in Verdi's Aida as the Ethiopian king, Amonasro.
We don't get to see Marian Anderson this week, sadly. The Met's February screenings tell how thin are the ranks of black singers on its stage. Six are performances by Kathleen Battle and/or Jesseye Norman. Wonderful singers, both, but both struggled to make it to the stage at the Met.
Is it different today? In June 2020, with the rise of Black Lives Matter, the Met made a public declaration that it was "taking a long, hard look at how our organization functions and what we can do to combat racism, increase diversity among our ranks, and be a more racially equitable institution."
Opera confronts a raft of issues relating to racism - the plots, the representation of racial difference, including the use of 'blackface' makeup. above all the prejudice against black actors, singers, managers, technicians. Listen here to the video discussion curated by J’Nai Bridges and described in this story.
Black History Month at the Met, Part I
Tuesday, February 2 The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess Starring Angel Blue, Golda Schultz, Latonia Moore, Denyce Graves, Frederick Ballentine, Eric Owens, Alfred Walker, and Donovan Singletary, conducted by David Robertson. Production by James Robinson. From February 1, 2020.
Wednesday, February 3 Verdi’s La Forza del Destino Starring Leontyne Price, Isola Jones, Giuseppe Giacomini, Leo Nucci, and Bonaldo Giaiotti, conducted by James Levine. Production by John Dexter. From March 24, 1984.
Leontyne Price became the longtime star at the Met (she had become a European star years back). Six years after Marian Anderson's arrival on its stage, Price made her Met debut in 1961. She became as the Met history delicately puts it, 'the first African American superstar singer—one who was indispensable and around whom the company planned its season repertory'. Especially in black roles - see our blog on her Aida. This 1984 Leonora won great raise, thought her singing rather than acting was the focus. Bachtrack here. Seen and Heard here.
Thursday, February 4 Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites Starring Maria Ewing, Jessye Norman, Betsy Norden, Régine Crespin, and Florence Quivar, conducted by Manuel Rosenthal. Production by John Dexter. From April 4, 1987.
Friday, February 5 Rossini’s La Cenerentola We've seen a lot of versions of Rossini's version of the Cinderella story and its brilliant music for brilliant mezzo sopranos. Most recently screened was Cecilia Bartoli's - see and hear her triumphant finale here . And then there was Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Juan Diego Flórez as the prince. Here’s our website information about that production and click here for notes about Rossini. Now the Met brings a young Garanca to the role, with Lawrence Brownlee. Here's Elina's version of that triumphant finale at her wedding.
Starring Elina Garanča as Cinderella seen here with Lawrence Brownlee as the prince (how could he not recognise her?) Alessandro Corbelli is the stepfather he has played around the world. Conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Cesare Lievi. From May 9, 2009.
Saturday, February 6
Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro
Starring Carol Vaness as the Countess, Kathleen Battle as the servant bride, Susanna (above), Frederica von Stade as Cherubino - so don't bother about the men!! (Thomas Allen as the Count and Ruggero Raimondi as Figaro). Conducted by James Levine. Production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. From December 14, 1985.
Sunday, February 7 Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos Starring Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Tatiana Troyanos, and James King, conducted by James Levine, 1988. Jessye Norman is Ariadne, the mythological Greek heroine in this opera-within-an-opera. Kathleen Battle is Zerbinetta, the leader of a commedia dell’arte troupe that finds itself stranded on Ariadne’s island.
Monday, February 8
Starring Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Conlon. Directed by Tito Gobbi. From December 19, 1978.
You don’t know the opera and the challenge of this role? Read about it on our blog here – which links you to earlier sessions we’ve had on Puccini and Tosca. And if you want to know more about Verrett, this is a good start.
Week 48 Black History Month at the Met, Part II
Tuesday, February 9 Wagner’s Das Rheingold
Starring Wendy Bryn Harmer, Stephanie Blythe, Patricia Bardon, Richard Croft, Gerhard Siegel, Dwayne Croft, Bryn Terfel, Eric Owens, Franz-Josef Selig, and Hans-Peter König, conducted by James Levine. Production by Robert Lepage. From October 9, 2010.
It's a classic now - the famous 'machine' from Canadian director Robert Lepage, that drove the Met's current Wagner Ring Cycle operas to notoriety had its debut here - in 2010. Read about it here. And the Black star in this production was Eric Owens, playing the archetypical baddie, the dwarf of the underworld driven by greed. As Guardian put it, his was a 'skin-crawling Alberich'.
In many crits, (see this one), Owens overshadowed Terfel playing Wotan - but then Alberich is the more fascinating character. 'Eric Owens’ Alberich remains a marvel, both hateful and poignantly human whether clambering after the Rhinemaidens or still and sullen, a singularity of rancor, as he ponders the theft of the Rhine gold.'
New to Wagner and the Ring? Story of this opera is here. Faithful readers of this blog will recall that back in March, at the dawning of the new world of COVID19 , the Met screened a week of Wagner, featuring the 2016 performances of their current entire Ring Cycle. Go to our post for lots of information and links to more information about Wagner, the Ring and the ending of the world. As I commented then, this is your chance to view the infamous Met Ring Cycle with the multi-million dollar "Machine" representing the World in its various ups and downs. Not a bad metaphor for the present.
There's a good synopsis of the whole vast complex story here. Opera North offers a splendid statistically illustrated Ring in a Nutshell. Please go back to my earlier post at the beginning of March, "Time on your hands?" The Opera North Ring, an innovative, concert-style production, is still available online. Follow the links to our earlier pages on Wagner.
Wednesday, February 10 Verdi’s Ernani Starring Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Ruggero Raimondi, conducted by James Levine. Production by Pier Luigi Samaritani. From December 17, 1983.
Thursday, February 11 Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia Starring Kathleen Battle, Rockwell Blake, Leo Nucci, Enzo Dara, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, conducted by Ralf Weikert. Production by John Cox. From December 3, 1988.
Friday, February 12
Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera
Starring Aprile Millo, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leo Nucci, as the triangle of love - and Florence Quivar, conducted by James Levine. Production by Piero Faggioni. From January 26, 1991. Verdi at his most tuneful - a good summary of the opera and music here. Yes, you guessed it, Florence Quivar, who is black, plays Ulrica, just as Marian Anderson did, all those years ago. Pretty impressive, too! Here's her one big number.
Saturday, February 13 Philip Glass’s Akhnaten
The challenge of Philip Glass is encapsulated here in a BBC bouquet. New to Glass, and his minimalist music? Wikipedia has a detailed intro to the man and the music here, and there's a strong article in NYTimes here. More here.
Read about the star, Anthony Roth Costanzo here .
And listen to his hymn to the Sun here.
J’Nai Bridges, who hosted the discussion of Black experience I referred to above - stars with Anthony Roth Costanzo. Production by Phelim McDermott. From November 23, 2019.
Sunday, February 14 Berlioz’s Les Troyens Starring Tatiana Troyanos, Jessye Norman, Plácido Domingo, and Allan Monk, conducted by James Levine. Production by Fabrizio Melano. From October 8, 1983.
Monday, February 15 Wagner’s Die Walküre For those new to Wagner, this is the second of the Ring Cycle operas. Lots has happened since the ring was stolen from Alberich. Check my notes and links above at Das Rheingold.
Starring Hildegard Behrens, Jessye Norman, Christa Ludwig, James Morris, and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. Production by Otto Schenk. From April 8, 1989.
This is a stunning cast in a classic production, described well here, giving a sense of how the Ring was done before modern interpretations and engineering. NYTimes review here.
If you can't view it, at least listen here to Jessye Norman as Sieglinde - singing "O hehrstes Wunder!" in 1989.