Posted on 07/22/2020 5:28:36 AM PDT by Stravinsky
When Lyric Opera was forced to cancel all its performances for the rest of the year due to the pandemic, it seemingly lost one of its greatest outreach opportunities: The annual free concert at Millennium Park, which reaches thousands of listeners.
Rather than take the loss, Lyric general manager, president and CEO Anthony Freud and Ryan Opera Center music director Craig Terry came up with an alternative – one distinctly in tune with our turbulent times.
At 6 p.m. July 26, the Ryan Opera Center will present “Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter,” a free virtual concert spotlighting Black musicians and Black musical culture. Featuring eminent tenor Brownlee, who hilariously played Count Almaviva in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” last September at Lyric, the online concert also will feature distinguished Ryan Opera Center alums J’Nai Bridges, Whitney Morrison and Will Liverman, plus current ensemble members.
Why the focus on Black music?
“It’s our determination for Lyric to play a very active, dynamic role in fighting systemic racism,” says Freud. “And in acknowledging the long-standing problems that need to be addressed, I thought this would be a good opportunity as a start.
“It’s going to be a long, focused, evolving process to which we are fully committed, and we plan to issue an initial action plan sometime in September. But I didn’t want to lose any time.”
Classical music indeed has been behind the times when it comes to confronting racism, with African American artists woefully underrepresented in operatic and symphonic realms. Rectifying that in a world in which disadvantaged, minority communities have scant access to classical music in school – where young talent is first recognized and nurtured – will not be easy.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
I’ll believe that Chicago Lyric Opera is not racist when they allow white singers to portray Porgy and Bess.
I’m an Opera Fan. Brownlee is a fine tenor.
But I thought it was illegal to hire on the basis of race.
ML/NJ
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