外网天堂

Artists of color who are creating three newly commissioned works at Opera Theatre of St. Louis say they are expanding the possibilities for which stories can make it to the opera stage.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis announced the three short operas commissioned through a program designed to open the opera world to artists who have been excluded in the past 鈥� particularly artists of color. the 20-minute operas March 16-18 at CoCA.

鈥淚t was really amazing to see all the different ways that folks have taken opera,鈥� said Caroline Fan, a member of the community panel that selected the three works. 鈥淚'm so deeply excited for rappers and writers and other young creatives, who have never even considered opera, to see these deeply powerful and moving works.鈥�

St. Louis-based artist wrote and composed 鈥淢adison Lodge,鈥� which looks at the history of drag balls in 1920s Harlem. 鈥淐ool Shack,鈥� by Del鈥橲hawn Taylor and Samiya Bashir, tells the story of an African American teenager who finds inspiration in the history of Black, female inventors.

Composer-librettists Simon Tam and Joe X. Jiang wrote 鈥淪lanted: An American Rock Opera鈥� about their experiences in the band the Slants, which that affirmed its right to use a racial slur in its band name as a means of reappropriating the word.

The trio of short works will be the first fruits of Opera Theatre鈥檚 New Works Initiative. In March, the organization appointed , mostly with members who do not primarily work in the opera field, to commission new works. The panel will commission six more short operas in the next two years. At least one St. Louis-based creative team will be included in each round.

The program is supported by a $750,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Opera Theatre does not yet have concrete plans for how to continue the program after the three-year period covered by the grant, and is instead focusing on one year at a time, a spokesperson said.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis

鈥淚 guess we revere opera in this very pristine, prestigious way. I don't know, maybe I felt like I wasn't good enough to be in that type of space,鈥� Griffith said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that I made the decision to apply. I'm finding new things out about myself and my artistry. And yeah, I deserve to take up space here, just like anyone else."

Opera Theatre has had some recent successes commissioning full-length operas by artists of color. 鈥淔ire Shut Up in My Bones,鈥� by jazz trumpeter and composer Terrence Blanchard and writer Charles Blow, before becoming to receive a production at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

But the key shift represented by the New Works Initiative is in taking some of the commissioning authority away from Opera Theatre鈥檚 leaders, and inviting in people from outside the sometimes-closed world of opera, including artists who more regularly work with other musical forms.

鈥淪o often, who you invite to commission an opera is just, it鈥檚 who鈥檚 already in your network. It鈥檚 who we know. It鈥檚 who had access to reach out to us. And so I think we鈥檝e been constrained by the network we鈥檙e living inside of,鈥� General Director Andrew Jorgensen said when announcing the initiative in March.

Opera Theatre鈥檚 senior leaders, Jorgensen and Artistic Director James Robinson, are white men. Last year, 80% of its board members were white, including Chairperson No茅mi K. Neidorff. Jorgensen has described the organization鈥檚 administrative staff as 鈥渁lmost entirely white.鈥�

The lack of racial diversity reflects , where orchestra members, conductors, organizational staff and board members are disproportionately white and male.

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, members of whom form Opera Theatre鈥檚 house ensemble, splits about 50/50 between male and female musicians. Its CEO is a white woman, and its music director is a white man.

The operas of Mozart and Puccini could be complemented with new work that reflects a variety of experiences and incorporates newer musical styles, said Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, a Brooklyn-based theater artist who will direct the three short operas.

鈥淭he future is inclusion. I think the future is taking a lot of these European white models that existed, and what opera can be, and shattering it. We do a disservice in any art form if we don鈥檛 evolve,鈥� Maharaj said.

鈥淲e know the history of the lack of opportunity and access to BIPOC creatives,鈥� Maharaj said. 鈥淎nd to be able to see what amazing art has come forth, to see the outpouring that has come forth in St. Louis from the BIPOC community 鈥� and particularly the African American and Asian communities coming together and rallying around these new works 鈥� it鈥檚 a moment that will hopefully be a touchstone for years and years to come.鈥�