Seattle Opera appointed its first Scholar in Residence, musicologist Naomi André, again in 2019. In that position, Professor André has written program essays, given Opera Talks, and appeared on panels in our Group Conversations sequence. Subsequent week, together with the opening of La traviata, Professor André will lead a brand new, two-part Opera Class on the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Seattle Opera lately sat down with Professor André to study extra about her time as Scholar in Residence, what audiences can anticipate from her upcoming class, and why it’s essential to investigate the artwork we love.
Seattle Opera:
How do you conceptualize your position as Scholar in Residence? How do you assume performing arts organizations may gain advantage from comparable roles?
Naomi André:
Many performing arts organizations have labored with music students previously, however Seattle Opera was one of many first locations to make Scholar in Residence an official position. That designation has given Seattle Opera and its audiences an thrilling alternative to study from individuals who have particular experience within the discipline. A Scholar in Residence can present a deep perspective on what kind of analysis is on the market, how students take into consideration sure points, and what concepts are new and thrilling. I feel it’s actually useful for performing arts establishments to foster relationships with individuals who love the artwork kind and spend their lives researching it.
These kinds of relationships are transferring opera in a constructive path. For a very long time, I feel many individuals considered opera primarily as leisure. However now, individuals are excited about opera extra critically and seeking to the artwork kind to push us ahead socially. Now we’re asking questions like “Who’s on stage? What tales are being advised?” And I feel it’s actually fantastic that opera is transferring on this path.
Seattle Opera:
May you say extra about why it’s essential to consider the works we placed on stage past their leisure worth? Why is it worthwhile to dig into them and perceive them higher?
Naomi André:
If you concentrate on what it means to be human, a lot of it has to do with complexity, with contradiction, with multi-dimensionality. Artwork captures these human parts fantastically. Artwork helps us discover which means in our lives and create higher areas for different folks. Sadly, nowadays, we’ve got fewer and fewer locations the place we are able to all sit collectively and expertise one thing communally, then discuss it afterwards. Opera, and the humanities extra usually, present that indispensable factor of humanity. So whereas I used to say, “we should always assume critically about artwork as a result of these are essential points,” I feel increasingly more that it’s essential to investigate artwork just because it’s a part of being human.
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| Dr. Naomi André on the 2019 Group Dialog “Decolonizing Attract.” © Sunny Martini. |
Seattle Opera:
What can audiences anticipate out of your upcoming class “Staging Distinction,” which seems to be at problems with race and illustration in Verdi’s operas?
Naomi André:
What’s actually enjoyable about this class is that, whether or not you’re new to opera or a seasoned veteran, Verdi provides one thing to like. I love Verdi. And a part of the magic of opera is that there’s one thing new each time you dig into it. It’s sort of like baseball in that respect: you possibly can get pleasure from a day on the ballpark whether or not the sport or not, however when you recognize the delicate complexities of what’s occurring, it reveals a whole new dimension. I need to present that subsequent degree of understanding for opera, to share a number of the codes that can open up the artwork kind.
These two lessons will provide a deeper look into Verdi’s life and the essential points that formed who he was as a composer. For instance, why is Nabucco so totally different from La traviata, which is sort of totally different from Falstaff, although they have been all written by the identical composer? Studying extra about these items might help audiences recognize them extra.
Extra particularly, these class classes will examine how race is represented in Verdi’s operas. We’ll look extra deeply on the Nineteenth-century Italian understanding of Spain by way of works like La traviata, Il trovatore, and Simon Boccanegra; and we’ll have a look at how Black characters are depicted in works like Un ballo in maschera, Aida, and Otello.
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| Gordon Hawkins as Amonasro in Aida (’18). © Sunny Martini. |
Seattle Opera:
Why is it essential to consider problems with race in Verdi’s operas?
Naomi André:
Studying about how distinction is portrayed in these works offers us a richer appreciation for them. Verdi didn’t write these operas in a bubble: he was influenced by his social context and the concepts that have been prevalent on the time.
Take Aida, for instance: the opera was commissioned by the Khedivial Opera Home in Cairo, which opened all the best way again in 1869. It may be straightforward to neglect that opera wasn’t simply confined to Europe, and Europe wasn’t sealed off from the skin world. So how does the truth that Aida was written for an Egyptian opera home impression the best way its characters are portrayed? What does that imply for productions of Aida at present?
I’m not right here in “blaming” Verdi for not understanding what we all know now about race and cultural distinction. Within the Nineteenth century, it was merely a lot more durable to journey and see different components of the world. Sure, he had a place of privilege to painting characters as he noticed match, however the truth that he was attempting to incorporate totally different voices is noteworthy. Characters like Azucena, Othello, Aida, and Amonasro are all human, fascinating, three-dimensional, difficult characters. They add a lot to the drama. And so I feel it’s invaluable to think about these characters within the full features of their humanity.
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| Dr. Naomi André on the 2019 Group Dialog “Decolonizing Attract.” © Sunny Martini. |
Seattle Opera:
One final query: what has been your favourite a part of working as Seattle Opera’s Scholar in Residence thus far?
Naomi André:
For me, this partnership has been useful as a result of I get to see the inside workings of opera and meet the people who find themselves bringing it to life. I see the unbelievable devotion on the a part of the employees, in addition to the care and experience that goes into making opera. Opera is so significant in my life, however I used to assume that the machine of opera was all on the stage: it was the singers and the crew working offstage to make the equipment run. However realizing the equipment of opera is a lot larger than that has been actually enjoyable to see.
Naomi André is the David G. Frey Distinguished Professor in Music and a 2022/23 Fellow on the Nationwide Humanities Middle on the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the creator of Black Opera: Historical past, Energy, Engagement and a founding father of the Black Opera Analysis Community. You’ll be able to register for her upcoming course, “Staging Distinction: Race and Illustration in Verdi’s Operas,” at seattleopera.org/stagingdifference.
