Critical Opera Theory
When I was in high-school, I was determined to have a sun-kissed tan like all the boys I had a crush on. With their effortless, tousled hair and natural highlights, I was dying to achieve that care-free, natural look as though I had just come back from the beach.
Well, that didn't happen...I went to a tanning bed for a spray tan and ended up embarrassing myself. I was bright orange. The term Oompa-Loompa was thrown around quite a bit. I tried every self-tanning product on god's green earth. Everything resulted in a fake, orange color on me. Eventually, I just gave up and learned to let go of my aspirations. I figured spray tans and self-tanning products were useless.
Then, the other day, a friend convinced me to give it another go. "The technology has changed drastically! No more orange!" It made sense. It had been about 15 years since I had tried sunless tanning, surely there must've been some improvement. The results were nothing short of miraculous. While I was convinced I was still orange, everyone I asked reassured me that it looked natural as if I'd spent a day at the beach. Even the people who I went to high-school with and witnessed my orange bronzer fiasco said it looked really great. I asked EVERYONE if I was orange and the consensus was a resounding "NO."
It's true, most self tanning products and spray tans have become more natural and flattering. Even my dad (the harshest critic I know) gave me a thumbs up. Okay, so what do we do about opera...
When the Metropolitan Opera staged its new production of Verdi's "Otello" back in 2015, discussions of blackface and racial representation have inundated the opera world. The production had already made news when the Met announced that, breaking with past practice, it would cease to apply any kind of blackface to Otello. The use of darkening makeup to suggest a character’s race has long seemed obsolete and insensitive. So, it was suggested, that the tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko, singing the title role, would not appear in blackface as so many tenors had before him.
But the former New York Times theater critic, Ben Brantely wrote, "Whether by natural complexion or grease paint, Mr. Antonenko did seem a shade darker than, certainly, his wife and his lieutenant." I noticed this as well. I wondered if the Met had darkened him just enough to avoid allegations of blackface while still maintaining his "otherness" based on his skin color. Who knows?
Now we have the Netrebko situation. Anna Netrebko, the opera world's star soprano was routinely admonished for her use of makeup to darken her skin ever since she added Aidia (a nubian slave) to her repertoire. When one picture surfaced of her in overt, dark makeup at the Arena di Verona, the rising soprano Angel Blue, withdrew from her performances saying, "The use of blackface under any circumstances, artistic or otherwise, is a deeply misguided practice based on archaic theatrical traditions which have no place in modern society,”
Still, despite all the criticism, Ms. Netrebko has been insistent upon the use of darkening makeup for artistic reasons, mainly, because she feels, as an artist, it brings authenticity to the role. Ms. Netrebko has also fired back at her detractors When the Met tried to stop her from using makeup to darken her skin during a production of “Aida” in 2018, she went to a tanning salon instead. In 2019, appearing with dark makeup in a production of “Aida” at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, she wrote on Instagram, “Black Face and Black Body for Ethiopian princess, for Verdi greatest opera! YES!”
My spray tan is very dark but still, it would be preposterous to suggest I am practicing blackface or even brown face. My friend Tucker pointed out that there is a passage in "Otello" where the title character sings about Desdemona's white hands. It still makes sense and isn't offensive if they stage an "Otello" who is slightly darker. However, when asked for comment from the Met, this was the response,
But Mr. Antonenko did not have a hand in his makeup or how dark he was. Ms. Netrebko, on the other hand, made a deliberate choice ignoring any self-reflection, any critical thinking or thought for the future of opera. I'm thrilled with my spray tan. But I did it to look like those boys in high-school. She did it to justify blackface.
"Aleksandrs Antonenko is among a small handful of international dramatic tenors who can meet the considerable musical challenges of the role of Otello, one of the most demanding in the entire operatic canon, when sung without amplification on the stage of the world's largest opera house."
...really? I believe there are plenty of black, dramatic tenors who could easily sing the role. Mr. Antonenko's voice is routinely criticized and he cannot act. Is this really the best the Met can do?