American Lyric Theater Champions Diversity and Representation with Signature Opera Writers Program

From February 27 through April 24, American Lyric Theater conducts a free, eight-week, virtual symposium on writing for the opera stage. The CLDP Opera Writers Symposium will provide artists with practical tools for both first-time and experienced creatives with an interest in creating new opera.

By Rebecca Davis

(New York, NY) - Leading voices of American Lyric Theater (ALT) and the Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) -- including ALT’s Founder Lawrence Edelson; Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo; composers Anthony Davis, Justine Chen and Jorge Sosa; librettists Stephanie Fleischmann and Lila Palmer; and dramaturg Cori Ellison – discuss ALT’s Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative (OWDARI). They share the importance of diversity in the creation of new works of opera, their own journeys with the art form and how the American Lyric Theater addresses proactively recruiting musicians and writers of all racial and artistic backgrounds to take part in their flagship biennial Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP).  

Dramaturg Cori Ellison says, “the best art has always held up a mirror to society, challenging and inspiring us to evolve by facing our frailties or laughing at our foibles, there's so much we can learn from the mirrors held up by the new and diverse voices we're welcoming into our art form.”   

Each artist and leader answered a series of questions on the topic of diversity in opera and what the CLDP does to foster it. Their answers enlighten and inspire.  

---

Why is it important for opera to be open to new perspectives from both composers and librettists? 

ALT’s Founder LAWRENCE EDELSON: Opera is an extraordinarily impactful way to tell stories - bringing together music and theater through a physical realization on stage or, increasingly, through digital channels of distribution. Ultimately, who tells what stories matters. New perspectives that are representative of contemporary American society are vital to keep opera relevant. It’s important to remember that opera’s origins were as a populist art form. The opera house was the first musical institution to open its doors to the general public. The first opera house was opened in Venice in 1637, presenting commercial opera and run for profit. Public tastes and preferences have shaped opera throughout history, though admittedly, opera has also consciously excluded the perspectives of significant portions of the population - often with racist motivations. If those writing opera in the 21st century don’t reflect the totality of contemporary American society, opera won’t be meaningful - either as art or entertainment. 

Dramaturg CORI ELLISON: The best art has always held up a mirror to society, challenging and inspiring us to evolve by facing our frailties or laughing at our foibles.  Diversity is not a new thing in American society, but the complete and eager embrace of it certainly is, and there's so much we can learn from the mirrors held up by the new and diverse voices we're welcoming into our art form.   

“Malcolm X used the expression "that old pale thing" to describe the legacy of racism that has plagued our country since its inception. Opera can no longer afford to be merely "that old pale thing" that only represents White male composers and librettists and the implicit credo of white supremacy. This is a fundamental question of the survival of the art form.” - Composer Anthony Davis 

Librettist LILA PALMER: Opera is one of many music drama traditions, that speaks to human life through song. We turn to stories with music to learn who we are and see ourselves, to educate, build, enforce and when necessary, break down the myths and driving assumptions of our culture. We do that through the creation of empathy and the possibilities of imagination. Opera has traditionally been created by a limited group of people, and consequently the stories and myths and power dynamics it perpetuates align with both the traumas and concerns of that group. But there are wider audiences to reach, to entertain and to speak to, and we need a wider group of storytellers to do that. 

Composer JORGE SOSA: Storytelling is continuously evolving and is in perpetual transformation, so it is essential that we open up avenues for composers and librettists to share and engage with dramatic ideas that can propel the genre forward in order to assert the art form's relevance. 

“Opening one’s mind to the ideas that composers and librettists of diverse backgrounds bring to the table can open doors that one did not know existed; doors that lead to a better version of ourselves.   And sometimes perspectives not chained to the expectations and traditions of the past are exactly what is needed to open paths to evolution.” - ALT Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo

Librettist STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN: Telling stories is a powerful means for not just making sense of our world but for enacting change. The stories we have to tell are infinite. They encompass everybody’s stories. And they must be told by everybody if we are to represent this complex messy world we live in—if we are to attempt to articulate some sort of truth that expresses who we are as humans. Telling stories via music—a form that has the potential to mine an emotional terrain that reaches beyond language to a place that is, simply, and overwhelmingly human—promises to transgress boundaries, cross bridges, reach beyond the walls that we as a civilization still seem far too intent on constructing between us (whoever we may be) and those who hail from cultures different from our own. And yet American opera has been slow to embrace a vibrant, rich, magnificently diverse, multicultural world. Opera as a form will only thrive if and when it is a medium that upholds a diverse breadth of stories housed within a diverse breadth of forms, a diverse breadth of approaches to telling stories, made by a diverse breadth of makers, within institutions led by a diverse group of leaders, performed by singers who represent the diversity and multiplicity of our communities, directed and designed by artists whose lived experience and cultural legacy is not solely western and white. 

ALT Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo

ALT’s Associate Artistic Director KELLY KUO: We only survive and grow as a species through collaboration and the best collaboration occurs only when each party can look at things from a variety of perspectives.  In this respect, opera is no different than any other human endeavor.  Opening one’s mind to the ideas that composers and librettists of diverse backgrounds bring to the table can open doors that one did not know existed; doors that perhaps lead to a better version of ourselves.   And sometimes perspectives not chained to the expectations and traditions of the past are exactly what is needed to open paths to evolution. 

Composer JUSTINE CHEN: Composers and librettists both hold the keys to different forms of expression in opera.  Words have a certain power, and music has a different kind of power.  One can also inspire and unlock the other.  When there are two creators working towards a similar goal, each artist knows how to achieve that goal with one art, when two work together, the combination can magnify and heighten the effect.  When two people from different backgrounds collaborate, a new perspective emerges - similar to the combination of two lines of sight giving the perception of depth. There is a danger of stagnation without new perspectives, so recycling old perspectives is not a way to move forward. 

Composer Anthony Davis

Composer ANTHONY DAVIS: Malcolm X used the expression "that old pale thing" to describe the legacy of racism that has plagued our country since its inception.  In order to be a viable art form for the future, opera can no longer afford to be merely "that old pale thing" that only represents White male composers and librettists and the implicit credo of white supremacy. This is a fundamental question of the survival of the art form.  Can Opera be part of something so much bigger and more representative? 

On Monday, March 22nd, this six-part Q&A with ALT’s expert panel continues via Opera Innovation on Facebook.

---

American Lyric Theater is currently in the midst of its first ever virtual Opera Writers Symposium, a series of workshops and mini-seminars for composers and writers taking place February 27 – April 24. With the symposium, ALT seeks to introduce musicians and writers from diverse racial and artistic backgrounds to opera and explore how they might use the tools of the art form to tell their stories. ALT also hopes to encourage applications to the Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), the country’s only full-time paid mentorship for emerging opera composers, librettists and dramaturgs.  

Symposium classes include:  

• The Architecture of Opera: Outlining for Composers and Librettists led by composer/librettist Mark Adamo 

• Dramatizing History and Opera as Activism led by dramaturg  Cori Ellison  

• Opera, Technology and Innovation led by composers  Kamala Sankaram  and  Jorge Sosa 

• From Erased to Self-Empowered: Celebrating BIPOC Opera Composers and Librettists led by ALT’s Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo  

• How to Have a Healthy Marriage: Collaboration Best Practices led by ALT’s Founder Lawrence Edelson and dramaturg Cori Ellison 

Guest speakers during the symposium include composers Anthony Davis, Missy Mazzoli, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Huang Ruo and Errollyn Wallen; and librettists Mark Campbell, Thulani Davis (also a poet and playwright), David Henry Hwang, Andrea Davis Pinkney (also a children’s book author), and Royce Vavrek.   

The symposium provides practical tools for both first-time and experienced artists with an interest in developing new works for the operatic stage and serve as an introduction to ALT’s Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), a two-year, tuition-free professional training program for writers interested in creating new operas that includes extensive mentorship and direct financial support. No previous experience in writing opera is necessary.  

The CLDP Opera Writers Symposium is completely free, but  advance registration is required for each seminar, please.  Complete program details here. Lead funding for the symposium comes from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.  

The Opera Writers Symposium is part of ALT’s Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative (OWDARI). In consultation with an Advisory Committee comprised of BIPOC artists and related experts in the field, ALT is examining every part of the company’s operations with the goal of addressing structural inequality and racism and increasing participation by BIPOC artists in the company’s flagship mentorship program.  

---

Rebecca Davis Public Relations
Rebecca Davis
347.432.8832
rebecca@rebeccadavispr.com

American Opera's 'Innovate or Die' Moment

Photo: Ken Howard | The Santa Fe Opera’s 2016 production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” | Set Design: Riccardo Hernandez

By James B. Mowdy

(Santa Fe, NM) - As coronavirus rockets around the planet, billions of us are grappling with a new reality, doing our best to accept the absolute disruption of life as we knew it. As this frightening new normal dawns upon us, we’re realizing that our health security has been questionable for months, and that our ability to gather in public spaces is either curtailed or outlawed, with perhaps more of the same for months or years to come. 

For weeks, we’ve been isolated since no one is safe from the Great Equalizer of COVID-19, an infection with an unknowable prognosis. Some of us might already be infected, suffering mildly or acutely at home or fully asymptomatic. Cooped up, we’ve watched China, South Korea, Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Louisiana, Georgia, South Dakota and New York City explode with infection, with dozens to hundreds to thousands of deaths per day. Hospitals around the world are overtaxed and undersupplied. We’re at war.

Milan’s La Scala closed on February 23rd. The Metropolitan Opera followed suit on March 12th, cancelling all of March’s performances, and then a week later cancelling what remained of the season. Opéra de Paris, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, The Royal Opera and festivals such as Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Garsington and Aix en Provence followed, as coronavirus silences live operatic performance around the globe, without any reasonable assurance of safety until a vaccine is found.

And here we are.

Since February, I’ve had in-person, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram conversations about how the world’s greatest art form could survive and flourish in the United States, including how it could evolve into a sturdier, more equitable, sustainable and transparent industry that works for all, such as soloists and musicians dealt the cruel blow of force majeure.

Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson was recently interviewed on New York’s Classical WMHT-FM. Discussing Saratoga’s cancellation of its 2019 season, Edelson touched on the challenges opera faces in a dramatically altered performance environment, as well as the need for “proactive thinking.” Citing the immediate benefits of opera’s pivot to online channels, Edelson said that streaming can’t replace live opera performance (mostly agreed on this point). Edelson also raised practical questions, too. How do opera companies enforce social distancing and remain sustainable? How are restrooms, the box office, concessions and intermissions handled? And, perhaps most critically, how do performers and musicians manage close proximity to each other? Mr. Edelson didn’t claim to have answers to these questions, but he’s in the process of bringing fellow opera professionals together for high-level discussions on “how to share the performing arts” now and post-COVID-19.

I was pleased to hear Edelson say that he and his colleagues are “ethically bound to proceed with care“ since opera and classical music audiences typically skew older. Per Edelson: “We’re talking about COVID-19 right now…we’ve been very reactive to (coronavirus) because we’ve been forced to” but “the best way to predict the future is to create it,” paraphrasing a quote by Peter Drucker, the godfather of modern business management. His closing thoughts perfectly distilled the moment. “We are going to have to create a future where there is a wider variety of ways we can enjoy live performance. And I don’t think this means that traditional theatre-going is going to disappear, I certainly hope not because I love it. But I think it would be naïve to believe that the world is not going to change as a result of what we’re living through right now. I’d rather be on the front end of that change than chasing after it from behind.”

Figuratively looking outward from the stage, Mr. Edelson says that opera must reimagine how it engages live audiences. But shouldn’t American opera also spin on its heels to honestly assess, stress-test and reimagine how it works with the armies of creatives building their careers?

I’ve often said that opera singers and classical musicians are the original gig economy. But today’s gig economy hasn’t worked out that well for millions of Americans, even before the pandemic. The “company” person of earlier generations has disappeared; loyalty is limited and ultimately not required because everyone is an independent contractor. Like classical artists, tech professionals often work without job security, jockeying from employer to employer for the best, high-value experience, hopefully trading up to achieve some sense of financial security, a modicum of professional success or renown. As in opera, some in tech become wildly successful, perhaps as a star engineer, founder or major VC. But the similarities mostly end there. Tech professionals generally maintain or improve upon the lifestyle they’ve built, with the freedom to work remotely as needed or desired. Alternatively, and with rare exception, opera singers and classical musicians must be “at the office” to earn their living i.e. performing onstage, in a recording studio or at a special event. They must also continually hone their craft via lessons, practice, and other professional training at their own expense, which could mean additional side gigs just to keep the plates of their careers spinning.

Fortunately, there are US opera companies innovating right now and/or making decisions influenced by brand values and a laudable sense of business ethics. For example, Pittsburgh Festival Opera has reimagined its summer intensive as an “Online Young Artists Program”, utilizing recordings, podcast interviews, social media, and candid videos to maintain its audience until public gatherings are once again possible. It’s also significant to note that Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, Long Beach Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis are compensating staff (with some furloughs), as well as artists to varying degrees, in spite of cancelled seasons and ongoing uncertainty. Concurrently, The AGMA Soloist Coalition, formed in early 2020, is doing an excellent job spotlighting artist-supportive efforts by various American companies, working within the AGMA union to better address concerns and issues specific to soloists, which in turn strengthens their union. The coalition’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. As anyone who works in opera or follows the industry knows, there have been critical, and in some cases, recent moments when US companies have operated in a somewhat secretive fashion or exercised a kind of top down decision-making reminiscent of the Hollywood studio system of the 1930-50s.

This is not a hit piece. Rather, it’s an honest look at some of American opera’s business practices and how the now, mostly discarded mantra of “move fast and break things” should be applied to opera, a shock to the system that could ultimately result in a healthier industry. Because shouldn’t American opera want to be known as an equitable workplace? A workplace with new efficiencies, increased employee/contractor/artist loyalty and productivity? Also, as an industry governed by uniform business ethics and transparency, industry-wide innovations to protect and compensate artists, as well as a sense of proactive responsiveness to impending or potential business impacts? All of these could redefine American opera, creating a new kind of 21st century success for the art form.

The AGMA Soloist Coalition’s platform details specific areas where it seeks to improve artists’ collective standing. Two of those areas are:

• Pay Structures

• Manager and Artist Best Practices

Pay Structures

The AGMA Soloist Coalition seeks “ways we can protect ourselves financially in future contracts” while also “implement(ing) changes in the way singers are paid industry-wide.” To say that there’s a bit to explore and improve here is an understatement. Baritone Ryan McKinney, whose artistry I’ve long admired, recently tweeted how it’s important to “support the innovations we are seeing in content being created right now” i.e. during this crisis.

McKinney’s comments were in response to a beautifully distilled thread from tenor and MiddleClassArtist.com’s Zack Finkelstein. Finkelstein was discussing the free streaming of operas as soon as the crisis hit, which I view as a lost opportunity for several companies (more on that soon). Zach’s tweets verbatim:

• “For foreseeable future, online content will be critical to artist business development and revenue. Streaming premium arts productions for free hampers our ability to survive in 6 months. We're giving away the ipad and hoping people buy it later when we need the cash.”

• “By broadcasting the works from the peak of our production capacity before social distancing, we are overpromising and setting ourselves up for failure with audience expectations when we try to charge something. Giving out the 2019 ipad and following it up with the 2012 ipod.”

• “We are stifling innovation by giving away pre-covid entertainment online. How can we promote new work and ask people to pay $9.99 for it while competing with a limitless volume of free, flawlessly produced content? Is there room for new DIY albums in a free Met HD world?”

The obvious and easiest solution to this practice (or problem) is a paywall or digital subscription, something that works beautifully for the Medici.tv platform and app. Director David Paul saw it differently, tweeting that “some of the most successful corporations of our time” have used the free sample model to “awaken an appetite that is then worth paying to satisfy later. People are unemployed, we have the ability to give them joy,” and that this approach could “possibly generate new audiences.”

In my mind, Mr. Paul’s response only reinforced Finkelstein’s argument, so I responded, noting that opera is 1) a high-value luxury product and 2) its performance is a luxury brand experience. Why shouldn’t pay walls or monthly/annual subscription fees exist? Why is there no SAG-AFTRA-like artist residual / royalty mechanism for every download, stream or rebroadcast, based on a standard, industry pay per view model used by every American opera company? Could AGMA institute or manage something of this nature? Is a new, AGMA-affiliated body required?

But Mr. Paul stuck to his argument.

Mr. Paul also thought it was “absurd” to innovate during the pandemic. I disgreed (apologies for the typo).

I don’t know Mr. Paul and certainly have nothing against him, but I can’t think of a better time to begin serious discussions on how to restructure the ways American opera compensates creatives, when its way of doing business is forever changed (why I’m glad the AGMA Soloist Coalition is on the case). Apologies to Mr. Paul, but “down the road” just doesn’t fly. The expectation that artists and musicians can simply hang on for an indeterminate amount of time isn’t workable, all the more so during this crisis. 

Back to the pink elephant in the room. Why does the Mecca of American Opera - a bonafide luxury brand - stream its operas for free, the equivalent of leaving money on the table? What luxury brand does that? To be fair, a $14.99/month on-demand video offer is found just below free streaming content, but why make viewers scroll down to pay for this service when the page leads with content that’s free of charge? A compelling, of the moment call to action for purchase is missing. Ultimately, the decision to give away high-value content devalues this company’s one-of-a-kind, high-value work product, as well as the skills of highly-trained, best-in-world artists and musicians who perform live onstage and in perpetuity via free stream, a stream this company’s national and global audience would certainly purchase, just like MetHD. It’s not rocket science to see how pay wall/subscription fees could directly compensate soloists and musicians who lost their incomes when the remainder of the 2019/20 season was cancelled; many of us would be all the more inclined to purchase a streaming subscription if we knew funds were directly helping artists and musicians. A company-wide fundraising appeal could be added, as well, creating an innovative, almost corporate social responsibility-like initiative as PR campaign, publicly demonstrating The Met’s care and concern for the most critically important individuals in its employ, acting as American opera’s flag bearer, bar none. Of course, this could all still happen, so please feel free to forward this blog vers Lincoln Center!

Opera will continue being performed in this county, but what will it look like? Like the global aviation industry, a new and unknown business environment awaits. As previewed earlier by Mr. Edelson, how can the performance business model remain feasible in the age of social distancing? That factor alone changes the dynamic between audiences and performers. How many small to medium companies will fold? If the business of American opera stays the same, what happens when the next crisis arrives, artists and musicians once again holding an even emptier bag? 

Manager and Artist Best Practices

Mr. Edelson proposed action steps during his interview, many of which dovetail nicely into the AGMA Soloist Coaltion’s action plan regarding Manager and Artist Best Practices:

• The Manager & Artist Best Practices group has been discussing the many issues facing managers and soloists, so we can support each other’s livelihoods as the classical music world rebuilds. We are currently most focused on topics that address immediate concerns in our contracts that have come to light in the midst of the global pandemic.

As the SC takes the lead on advocating and creating change for opera soloists, in concert with the greater AGMA union, the lynchpin dialogue is between soloists and their managers and/or management firms. The more aligned these respective parties become, the more powerful their lobbying abilities will become.

The need for proactive thinking

Mr. Edelson advocated proactive thinking, not reactivity. The SC had already started to think of ways to improve their members’ standing in their industry, prior to the pandemic. My suggestions regarding pay walls, subscriptions, residuals and royalties may not be new, but they should be considered for the benefit of all who work in and profit from opera in the United States. I referenced the Hollywood studio system of the mid-20th century, but perhaps AGMA and the SC could look at today’s Hollywood, the filmmaking industry, unions like SAG-AFTRA and entertainment agencies like CAA, ICM, WME et al to model new structures that compensate and protect artist IP, as well as management firms. When and if these structures come to exist in opera, contracts will evolve to make space for them i.e. business innovation and evolution.

Ethically bound to proceed with care

Bringing opera professionals together

The SC is bringing soloists together to begin working on collective goals with opera companies and their managers, but is this considered a brave or bold move? Are there soloists who are concerned about being associated with this group? Is it considered “activist”? In light of where we are, none of that really matters anymore. Just like Mr. Edelson brainstorms with his opera colleagues, it’s important that the SC and other coalitions in AGMA, as well as other parties across the American opera universe (company leadership, composers, conductors, etc), unify as one to seek common goals that shore up and solidify American opera, institute greater employee/contractor protections and better compensation models. Opera America is already an established, unifying body in American opera. Perhaps OA could become a powerful leader and partner in this effort as well?

Accepting change and leading

Predicting the future by creating it

The SC’s platform and videos already demonstrate a group of talented individuals in full awareness of how their livelihoods are consistently at risk, COVID-19 has only heightened this awareness and acceptance. But this level of acceptance is something everyone who works in opera must find, sooner than not, which includes management, leadership of every American opera company, Opera America and, perhaps most critically, the American opera-going public.

Most movements begin at the grassroots level. The SC is clearly playing that role, but it can’t create lasting change alone. SC’s increased union and management support is key. But US opera’s standard operating procedures will only improve when the opera-going public becomes fully aware of the multiple challenges most artists and musicians face, raising our voice en masse for the “essential workers” of opera, and using our considerable purchasing power and influence to uniformly demand change for the most important people in the room. There will be pain. The meteor of coronavirus will force some companies to shutter. Some might lose their relevancy if they’re unable - or unwilling - to powerfully meet the moment. More nimble organizations could become digital and/or socially-distanced companies or some interesting hybrid of the pre-COVID model and something altogether new, defining opera’s new normal. American Opera 2.0 has already begun its countdown to launch. The trick is not getting left behind.

JM